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A Message From VA Portland Health Care System

Dear VA Portland Veteran:

We are pleased to offer you the COVID-19 vaccination!

We are piloting use of a new online scheduling tool that we hope will allow many more eligible Veterans to be scheduled without delay.  For this initial pilot, online scheduling will be available only on Martin Luther King Day, Monday, January 18^th.

This service is available now BY INVITATION ONLY to select Veterans 75 years or older who are enrolled for care at VA Portland Health Care System.  Do not forward this message to friends or family; if they sign up they will be turned away when they arrive.

Our schedulers are actively calling eligible Veterans by phone to make vaccination appointments.  If you have not already received a phone call and scheduled your vaccination, we invite you to try the online scheduling tool to sign up for your first shot on January 18^th.

A few other things to be aware of:

• VA Portland has the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, which requires 2 doses.
  • The second dose is due 21 days (+/- 4 days) after your first shot and will be scheduled when you arrive for your first vaccination appointment. 
  • If you will not be available in 3 weeks, do not sign up now for your first dose.  There will be other opportunities.

• You should NOT sign up to be vaccinated if:
  • You have had a major allergic reaction to other vaccines or any ingredient of this vaccine, including polyethylene glycol (PEG)0 or polysorbate, or 
  • You have received another immunization in the last 14 days.

• The CDC DOES recommend vaccination for almost everyone else, including people who have had other types of allergic reactions (e.g., to food, pets, venom, latex, or oral medications).  If you are immunocompromised or have an autoimmune condition, or you are pregnant, there is not much information to guide your decision.  You should consider talking to your provider but can choose to be vaccinated.

On the day of your vaccination:

• Do not come to the vaccine clinic if you have a fever, cough, or are otherwise feeling ill.  Please cancel your appointment, and we will work with you to reschedule it.
• Please arrive 5 minutes early to your appointment, not sooner.  If you arrive earlier, please stay in your car until your appointment time.  This will help us keep the clinic from becoming overcrowded.
• You will be required to wear a mask and maintain social distancing during your vaccination visit.  If a caregiver accompanies you, they should stay in the car during your visit unless you absolutely cannot manage without them.
• You will be observed for at least 15 minutes after your vaccination to ensure you don't have a reaction to it.  The risk of a serious reaction appears to be very low - approximately 1 in 100,000.

Thank you for your service!

Click here to schedule your vaccination.

Instructions:

1. Choose the location you prefer (Portland or Vancouver).
2. Ensure January 18^th is highlighted on the calendar and select your preferred time. If you see no available appointments, this means all slots have already been taken. 
3. Enter your:
   1. FULL NAME
   2. Email address
   3. Phone number
   4. Age
   5. Last 4 of SSN

          Please double check for typos. 

4. You will receive an email confirmation. There is an option to cancel or reschedule on the confirmation email.  You will be able to cancel or reschedule after 12 p.m. on January 17, 2021.  
5. Do not reply to the confirmation email; it will not be monitored.

Thank you for your service!

Additional information:

www.va.portland.va.gov 

CDC vaccine fact sheet

Pfizer/BioNtech vaccine info

What to expect after getting the vaccine

Portland campus location, map, and directions

Vancouver campus location, map, and directions