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COVID-19 vaccines at VA

We're working closely with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other federal partners to provide COVID-19 vaccines to Veterans and VA health care personnel. We know you have a lot of questions, and information is changing quickly. Please check back often for updates. We'll continue to update this page as we have new information to offer.

On this page

Who will get a COVID-19 vaccine first

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has authorized the first COVID-19 vaccine. We’ll have a limited amount of this vaccine to start.

We’ve worked with the CDC and other federal partners to develop a phased plan. Our goal is to do the most good for the most people during this time.

Under this plan, we’ll first offer vaccines to these 2 groups:

  • Veterans living in our long-term care facilities, and
  • VA health care personnel. Vaccinating our high-risk VA health care personnel helps us continue providing care for Veterans.

We based this plan on these criteria from CDC guidelines:

  • Risk of becoming infected with the virus
  • Risk of severe illness and death from COVID-19
  • Risk of spreading the virus to others
  • Risk of harm to society if essential workers, including health care personnel, are unable to work

After the first 2 groups, we’ll begin to offer vaccines to more Veterans who are at high risk of severe illness from COVID-19. Your VA health care team will contact you if you’re eligible to get a vaccine during this time. 

Who is at increased risk of severe illness from COVID-19

We'll follow CDC guidelines for determining who is at high risk of severe illness or death from COVID-19. Factors that may influence the risk of severe illness include the following:

  • Age. The risk of severe illness or death from COVID-19 increases with age.
  • Existing health problems. People with certain health problems (like diabetes, heart disease, or obesity) have a higher risk of severe illness or death from COVID-19.
  • Other factors that raise a person's risk of severe illness or death from COVID-19, such as living in a nursing home or other group living facility.

To learn more about people at increased risk, go to the CDC website.

Basic information about getting your vaccine at VA

As the supply of vaccine increases, we'll work with our care teams to let Veterans know their options. 

Where we'll offer vaccines

The first authorized COVID-19 vaccine requires special storage and handling. Because of this, we’ll start by offering vaccines through certain VA medical centers.

When more vaccines are available, we’ll determine if we can provide vaccines through our community provider network.

Eligibility and cost

When more vaccines become available, we plan to offer a free COVID-19 vaccine to all Veterans receiving VA health care who want one.

Your team will contact you when a vaccine is available to you. If you decide to get the vaccine, your team will help you schedule your appointments.  

If you’re not currently receiving health care through VA, you can apply now. 

Safety

The U.S. vaccine safety system ensures that all vaccines are as safe as possible. Safety is a top priority while federal partners work to make a COVID-19 vaccine available.

We’ll closely monitor everyone who gets a COVID-19 vaccine for reactions, side effects, or adverse events. An adverse event is an injury or harm that happens to someone after they receive a vaccine, which may or may not have been caused by the vaccine.

We’ll report this information in our vaccine monitoring and tracking system. This is the same system we use to monitor reactions to all vaccines, including those for the flu and shingles.

Privacy

We’ll share the same information with the CDC that we share for other vaccines. This includes the following information:

  • Demographic information (like age, gender, race, and ethnicity) that helps the CDC understand which groups of people are receiving the vaccine
  • Adverse reactions to the vaccine

We will not share names or street addresses.

 

Questions you may have about COVID-19 vaccines

The vaccine authorization process

  • There is no cure for COVID-19 at this time. There are treatments for COVID-19, but the risk of severe illness and death are still high in certain groups of people.

    The FDA recently approved remdesivir as the first drug to treat COVID-19. Clinical studies have shown that remdesivir may reduce the risk of death and shorten the length of illness in some people with COVID-19.

  • Yes. The FDA has authorized one COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer-BioNTech for public use.

    We expect the FDA to review and authorize one or more additional COVID-19 vaccines within the next few months.

    Federal, private, and academic partners continue to work to provide safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines as quickly as possible. The partnership for these efforts is called Operation Warp Speed. The partnership’s goal is to deliver hundreds of millions of doses of safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines to people across the country. To learn more about Operation Warp Speed, read the Department of Health and Human Services fact sheet.

  • The FDA is the government agency that regulates all vaccines used in the U.S. It ensures organizations that develop vaccines follow strict scientific and regulatory processes. The FDA also reviews all of the laboratory and clinical trial data for each vaccine to make sure the vaccine is safe and effective before it can be used by the American public. This review process usually takes several years.

    During a public health emergency like the COVID-19 pandemic, the FDA can issue an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA). An EUA speeds up the FDA’s review process to get critical medical products such as vaccines to people as quickly as possible. The process still includes all the same important steps, but in a shorter period of time.

    After the FDA authorizes the product, they continue to monitor the product’s safety and effectiveness. This includes tracking any adverse reactions or side effects that people may report when using the product.

    To learn more about how the FDA and other government partners are speeding up the process to get COVID-19 vaccines to the public, go to the Operation Warp Speed Accelerated COVID-19 Vaccine Process infographic.

    To learn more about the EUA process in general, play this FDA video (YouTube).

Getting a COVID-19 vaccine

  • The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has caused severe illness and death around the world. This is, in part, because the virus that causes COVID-19 spreads easily from person to person.

    We have some treatments to help reduce the effects of COVID-19 but a vaccine that helps prevent people from becoming infected is the best way to slow or stop the spread of the virus.

  • Vaccines help train your body’s natural immune system to recognize and fight a specific disease by stimulating a response to the virus that causes that disease.

    When a virus is introduced to your body for the first time, your immune system mounts a defense. This includes making antibodies that help kill or neutralize the virus. If you’re exposed to the same virus again, these antibodies also help your immune system recognize and fight the virus quickly.

    To learn more about how COVID-19 vaccines work, go to the CDC website.

  • Vaccines protect you and the people around you. Protecting whole communities from diseases like COVID-19 is an important reason for everyone to get vaccines. We call this “community immunity.”

    When enough people are vaccinated and develop immunity to a certain virus, that virus can’t spread as easily from person to person. This means that everyone in the community is less likely to get infected. Even if some people do still get infected, there’s less chance of an outbreak that causes many people in the community to get sick at the same time. This helps prevent issues like too many people needing care at once and not having enough hospital beds or health care providers.

    Data shows that some communities have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19. These include Black, Hispanic, Native American, Pacific Islander, and Asian communities. Members of these communities can help protect their families and friends by getting vaccinated.

  • At this time, we don’t know. This will depend on the results of the COVID-19 vaccine clinical trials. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are reviewing results for some of these trials now.

    Many COVID-19 vaccine trials have enrolled participants even if they had COVID-19 in the past. The FDA and CDC will closely review the trial results to determine if people who’ve had COVID-19 should still get the vaccine.

    For answers to more frequently asked questions about COVID-19 vaccines, go to the CDC website.

  • No. The authorized COVID-19 vaccine, and the vaccines still in development, use inactivated virus, pieces of the virus, or a gene from the virus. None of these can cause COVID-19.

    To learn more about how COVID-19 vaccines work, go to the CDC website.

  • Most likely, no. For the first several months we wouldn’t have enough vaccine to allow for this. We will reassess as more vaccines become available.

    Over time, when more vaccines become available the plan is to offer a free COVID-19 vaccine to all Veterans enrolled in VA health care who want one.

  • We expect the CDC to recommend against getting both the flu and COVID-19 vaccines at the same time. The CDC will provide this guidance when a vaccine is authorized or approved and clinical trial results are available for review.

    If the CDC recommends getting both vaccines separately, we’ll follow their guidance on how much time to wait between the vaccines.

    For answers to more frequently asked questions about COVID-19 vaccines, go to the CDC website.

  • Yes. You can change your mind about getting a vaccine at any time.

    During this time, we have a limited supply of vaccines. If you change your mind, we simply ask that you contact your care team as soon as possible. This will allow us to offer the vaccine to another Veteran.

  • The number of doses you’ll need of a COVID-19 vaccine will vary depending on the vaccine.

    The first authorized COVID-19 vaccine requires 2 doses, given 21 days apart.

    The next vaccine that we expect the FDA and the CDC to review requires 2 doses, given 28 days apart.

    Vaccine experts will need to continue studying the data to determine if and when people will need more vaccine doses to maintain protection from COVID-19.

    For answers to more frequently asked questions about COVID-19 vaccines, go to the CDC website.

After getting a COVID-19 vaccine

  • An effective vaccine will lower your risk of getting infected with the virus that causes COVID-19. If you do get infected, the vaccine may also lower your risk of severe illness. But no vaccine can prevent all infections. That’s why one goal of a COVID-19 vaccine is to make it harder for the virus to spread to others.

    We’ll have more information about the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines after clinical trials are complete.

  • We won’t know how long protection will last until we have more data on how well the authorized COVID-19 vaccine works.

    For answers to more frequently asked questions about COVID-19 vaccines, go to the CDC website.

  • No. Even if you receive a COVID-19 vaccine, you’ll still need to wear a mask that covers your mouth and nose when you’re in a VA facility. You’ll also need to follow other VA safety rules like practicing physical distancing. This helps protect you, other Veterans, and our staff.

For answers to more frequently asked questions about COVID-19 vaccines, go to the CDC website.

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