VA administers more than 146K COVID-19 vaccines nationwide

WASHINGTON (WAVY) — The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) says it has administered the initial doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.

More than 14,000 veterans at high risk of getting COVID-19 infection, and more than 132,000 health care employees as of Jan. 4.

The VA’s COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution Plan used Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine at 37 initial VA medical centers.

View the VA’s COVID-19 vaccine plan here.

The 37 initial sites to first receive the vaccine were selected based on several factors, including having the capacity to store the vaccine at extremely cold temperatures and the ability to offer high-throughput vaccination.

Shortly after, VA included 128 additional sites to the original list. To date, the list of sites has grown to 195 VA facilities nationwide with more being added.

“This is a massive undertaking that is happening at a rapid pace,” said VA Secretary Robert Wilkie.

VA officials say the second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine should be administered 21-days after the first vaccination while the second Moderna dose should be administered 28-days after the first.

VA began administering Moderna the week of Dec. 21, 2020. Both vaccines require two doses for maximum efficacy.

Veterans can get up-to-date information and sign up to receive updates on VA’s COVID Vaccine webpage.