Houston VA
Medical Center Update

News & Announcements

During flu season, protecting your health with a flu shot is easier than ever. The Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center and our Community-Based Outpatient Clinics will be offering our Veteran patients free flu shots beginning in mid-September. In the meantime, this year VA has set up a program that allows Veterans easy access to flu shots at a number of community retail pharmacies and urgent care locations close to your home. This year’s new program replaces last year’s Walgreens Retail Immunization Coordination Program and offers many more Community Care Network (CCN) locations for Veterans to visit for a flu shot. Click here to learn more about these CCN locations where you can get your flu shot and find a map of all participating community in-network locations. After you get the shot, please take a moment to notify your VA primary care provider (via phone or by emailing through Myhealthevet) that you have received the shot, so that we can ensure our records remain current.

If you choose to receive a flu shot at one of our CCN locations, no appointment or VA referral is required. Veterans need to present a valid government-issued identification (e.g. Veterans Health ID Card, Department of Defense ID card, state-issued driver's license or ID card, etc.). You can also use the VA Locator to find a VA facility, in-network retail pharmacy, or urgent care location near you by using this link: https://www.va.gov/find-locations

Eligibility

• Retail pharmacies: Veterans must be enrolled in the VA health care system
• Urgent care locations: Veterans must be enrolled in the VA health care system and have received care from a VA or in-network community provider in the past 24 months

Would you rather get your flu shot at the VA? This year we will be making it very convenient to get your flu shot at your Houston VA and Community Clinics. You can get your shot any time you are at a VA facility for a scheduled in-person visit. We will also be hosting special flu shot clinics in our facilities, to include drive-thru clinics at our main medical center and several of our outpatient clinics. We will be sending specific flu shot clinic locations and times out in the next week.

We encourage all Veterans to get the flu shot. During the COVID-19 pandemic, getting your flu shot is a way to provide yourself and your family with extra protection and help conserve health care resources.