COVID symptoms? What you should know.

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What should I do if I think I have symptoms of COVID-19?

If you have any of these emergency warning signs, call 911 to get help now: 

• Trouble breathing 
• Persistent (continuing) pain or pressure in the chest 
• Bluish lips or face 
• Suddenly feeling or acting confused 
• Trouble waking up or staying awake 

If you have other symptoms of COVID-19, like these listed below, contact your VA care team before going to a VA health facility. Contacting us first helps us keep you and others safe. 

• Relay a message to your VA Portland care team by calling (503) 402-2975, option 2;
• You can send your VA provider a secure message about your symptoms.  (Call the VA Portland MyHealtheVet team to get an account at (503)721-7854).
• If going to the VA Portland Emergency Department, please call before arriving at 503-721-7803

COVID-19 symptoms may appear 2-14 days after exposure to the virus which may include…

• Fever or chills
• Cough
• Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
• Fatigue
• Muscle or body aches
• Headache
• New loss of taste or smell
• Sore throat
• Congestion or runny nose
• Nausea or vomiting
• Diarrhea

Get the full list of COVID-19 symptoms from the CDC website.

The VA Annie text messaging service can help you monitor your symptoms

This service can advise you when to contact your VA care team or your facility’s advice nurse. It also provides general wellness tips and steps you can take to protect yourself. You can ask your VA care team to assign the service to you. Or, you can subscribe to Annie coronavirus precautions messages yourself. 

Subscribe to Annie coronavirus precautions messages

If you’d like to talk to someone about coronavirus concerns, like testing, exposure, and prevention at VA, call our MyVA411 main information line at 800-698-2411 (TTY: 711).

How can I get a COVID-19 vaccination thru VA?

ALL the details are at COVID-19 Vaccines - VA Portland Health Care System

Thank you.