The Department of Veterans Affairs may be ahead of many states and federal entities in vaccine administration, but the complexity of deciding who is eligible for the vaccine and when, has still left many confused and frustrated.
To date, the VA has administered 1.26 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine; As of Monday, 305,197 veterans and employees had received both doses.
To decide who prefers the limited vaccine supply, the VA uses an algorithm to search its databases and prioritize veterans. But it also considers other factors, such as the local availability of vaccine doses, clinical resources and requirements at each hospital or clinic, and the number of COVID-19 infections in an area.
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VA officials say the approach has enabled the department to vaccinate a large number of individuals within a relatively short period of time.
However, some veterans say they do not understand why they were not contacted, even though they say it is considered a high risk.
“My husband, a Vietnamese veterinarian, has not yet been contacted to get the vaccine … He is 77 with health problems,” said a veteran’s husband in the Dallas-Fort Worth area that she did not should not use her name because she wants to keep her husband’s identity private.
Eventually, he got an appointment through the city of Dallas, not through the North Texas VA health system, she said.
“He had to wait four hours in a car in Dallas to get his vaccine. It was exhausting, ‘she added.
Others mention similar problems in other parts of the country.
“I’m a fighting veteran volunteer in Vietnam and 68 years old,” said Dave Moore of Columbia, South Carolina. ‘I’m 100 percent VA disabled with two underlying conditions. … The VA has no idea. ‘
The VA uses a software program called the COVID-19 Vaccine Outreach for Veterans that analyzes information from the Veterans Health Administration Support Center databases to determine which patients are considered in high-risk groups.
The tool uses patient identifiers to weigh medical conditions, age and gender; it also indicates current treatments such as chemotherapy or dialysis and other risk factors for severe COVID-19 such as smoking or obesity.
The system then provides a list of prioritized patients to local VA medical centers.
However, according to VA spokeswoman Randy Noller, the medical centers have their own conditions to consider when assessing priority.
“On December 30, 2020, the VA issued guidelines to encourage local flexibility to maximize the access and efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccine and to limit potential vaccine waste, and this guidance included the flexibility to overlap phases and broaden vaccination, he said.
Individual VA health systems address factors that include vaccination hesitation, logistical challenges, and their own lists of patients prioritized by risk factors and the local environment.
At the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Anchorage, Alaska, for example, the veteran who is 60 years or older is offered the vaccine.
And in Havre, Montana – a remote location where VA suppliers flew in with the vaccine for a one-day clinic on Jan. 21, 239 veterans of various ages could be vaccinated.
“Montana is a very large state – 147,000 square kilometers. So we have a large area to cover. We are also a mountainous state, so winter travel can be a challenge between snow and small rural roads. It is part of the reason why we are so excited to get the vaccine across the state, ”said Judy Hayman, director of the Montana health care system.
According to Noller, the VA is primarily trying to vaccinate those classified as 1a – including health workers, first responders and residents in the residential area – and to move on to phase 1b or veterans 75 years and older.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, patients aged 65 to 74 years are considered phase 1c, as well as those aged 16 to 64 with serious health conditions.
But once again, priority can also be set at the local level. As early as November, clinicians at some VA health institutions began compiling lists of high-risk patients for severe cases of COVID.
Vietnamese veteran Wes Bickel, 73, is receiving care at VA Long Beach Healthcare System in California; he received a text message on Saturday that he had been identified as part of a priority group to get the vaccine.
Bickel, who has a heart condition related to exposure to Agent Orange, received his first dose through his province the previous day, ending a few weeks of frustration with the VA.
“Some of my cohorts snuck into the queue and already got their second shots. … I feel lucky to have options and registered with the country and not just rely on the VA,” Bickel told Military.com said.
VA Long Beach had such a strong response from residents in the area – including non-veterans – who wanted the vaccine that the facility’s phone system declined last week under pressure from calls.
“We know that the process of obtaining vaccines has been frustrating even under the best of circumstances, and that it is impossible to reach us. “officials wrote in an article on Friday. notice to veterans.
According to Noller, the VA uses as much as possible to vaccinate as many veterans and employees, and the process should run more smoothly once more vaccinations are available.
“We have built a system that is ready to accommodate much larger quantities as the manufacturers move forward. I am incredibly pleased,” said Dr. Richard Stone, VA, Acting Secretary of Health.
Even as the VA’s vaccination effort intensifies, veteran officials say they should do so if they have the opportunity to register for the vaccine elsewhere.
“We want to encourage veterans to get the COVID vaccine as soon as it is available,” said Dr. Sophia Califano, the deputy chief consultant of the VA for preventive medicine, said in a statement. “We believe this is the best way forward and the best way to protect you and your family.”
– Patricia Kime can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her Twitter @patriciakime.
Related: The VA has now administered more COVID-19 vaccine shots than 42 U.S. states
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