VA Connecticut Healthcare System
VA Connecticut to begin COVID-19 vaccinations for frontline workers, CLC residents
December 15, 2020
WEST HAVEN, Conn. — The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs today announced publication of its dynamic VA Vaccination Distribution Plan, and VA Connecticut will begin vaccinating Veterans and frontline health care employees this week.
This follows the Food and Drug Administration’s Dec. 11 decision to issue an Emergency Use Authorization for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine.
VA Connecticut is one of the first 37 VA sites across the country selected to provide the vaccines for its ability to vaccinate large numbers of people and store the vaccines at extremely cold temperatures.
“After many months of tireless efforts, we are thrilled the vaccine is here and honored to be one of the first VA sites to administer it,” said Alfred Montoya, Jr, director.
“We are following the VA COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution Plan to ensure a safe, evidence-based and equity-focused vaccine rollout for VA frontline workers and Veterans”
“VA employees have provided life-saving COVID-19 care to thousands upon thousands of people, and this plan demonstrates how the department continues to play a crucial role in the nation’s response to the pandemic,” said VA Secretary Robert Wilkie.
The plan released today addresses vaccinations for Veterans, staff, and other federal partners, and includes a risk stratification framework for identifying the population(s) at highest risk to receive the vaccine. The plan will be updated over the next two weeks to reflect final recommendations and specifications from FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on COVID-19 vaccines authorized through FDA’s Emergency Use Authorization process.
The plan covers vaccine distribution in the United States, Puerto Rico, and U.S. territories where VA provides health care to Veterans, as well as vaccine safety monitoring and vaccine reporting as required by the CDC and Operation Warp Speed.
Veterans seeking additional information should visit the VA Coronavirus Vaccine FAQs webpage, contact their care team, or visit their facility website. For interviews, please contact the VA Connecticut public affairs office at 203-937-3824 or Pamela.Redmond@va.gov.
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