KCVA COVID-19 Vaccine Update

Fellow Veteran,

The Kansas City VA Medical Center (KCVA) continues to receive increasing allotments of both the Moderna and Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine intended for first dose vaccinations of our enrolled Veterans. We also continue to expand the range of priority groups eligible to receive the vaccine as more doses arrive weekly. Next week, we will be receiving the newly approved Johnson & Johnson (J&J) one-dose vaccine for our vaccination efforts. Please remember that all vaccinations are by appointment only.

I want to encourage every Veteran to make an appointment for any of the three COVID-19 vaccines available through KCVA when offered the opportunity. According to Dr. Anthony Fauci, the White House Chief Medical Advisor, the United States now has three highly efficacious vaccines available.

“All three of them are really quite good, and people should take the one that’s most available to them,” Fauci said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

One of the advantages to the latest vaccine approved, the J&J version, is that it is a single dose vaccine, according to the KCVA Chief of Staff, Dr. Ahmad Batrash. Additionally, it has been shown to be effective where new COVID-19 variants are more common.

“The J&J vaccine is the only COVID-19 vaccine available in the United States that was studied in countries, in addition to the United States, where the new Coronavirus variants were rampant such as South Africa and Brazil; and showed significant effectiveness,” said Batrash.

To be eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccination through KCVA, a Veteran must be enrolled in VA health care. If a Veteran is not sure of his/her eligibility status, the Veteran should call 404-828-5257 to enroll by telephone.

The Kansas City VA Medical Center is committed to offering all our enrolled Veterans an opportunity to be vaccinated against COVID-19. According to KCVA’s Chief of Pharmacy, Dr. Christina Mears, receiving any COVID-19 vaccine is the best defense against this deadly disease.

“COVID-19 involves serious health risks,” said Mears. “Some Veterans aren’t affected a great deal, but others are hospitalized and may die, and we do not know the long-term effects of this serious and preventable contagious disease. As the KCVA comes to your communities, I ask that you partner with us to take a stand against COVID-19.”

In addition to the many COVID-19 vaccination clinics we have conducted in the Kansas City metro area, we have also expanded our outreach via clinics in Liberty, Olathe, and Warrensburg. Additionally, we have scheduled smaller clinics for Belton and Nevada on Friday, March 5. We are also looking to expand even further into some of the more distant communities like Cameron, Harrisonville, and Paola.

Veterans will receive automated calls when KVCA is scheduling future vaccine clinics in a specific area. If Veterans do not receive an automated call and are 55 years or older or have medical conditions that increase the risks associated with contracting COVID-19, can call (816) 922-2619 to make an appointment to be vaccinated.

We appreciate your patience and support as we move forward with VA’s COVID-19 vaccination program. Again, please sign up for a COVID-19 vaccination at your first opportunity. We will keep you informed as more details become available. Thank you.

 

DAVID ISAACKS, FACHE
KCVA Medical Center Director