Harry S. Truman Memorial Veterans’ Hospital
Update in Who Can Receive COVID Vaccine
All honorably discharged Veterans and their spouses and caregivers can now get a COVID Vaccination through the VA.
On Wednesday, March 24, 2021, President Joseph Biden signed into law H.R. 1276, the Strengthening and Amplifying Vaccination Efforts to Locally Immunize All Veterans and Every Spouse Act (SAVE LIVES Act). The new law expands the authority of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to provide COVID-19 vaccinations to more Veterans, their spouses, and caregivers.
Under the new law and effective immediately, Truman VA now will offer COVID-19 vaccinations to (in addition to enrolled Veterans who are eligible to receive VA health care):
- Any Veteran discharged with a status other than dishonorable or bad conduct
- Adult survivors and dependents covered under the CHAMPVA Program
- Adult caregivers of Veterans participating in a VA caregiver program
- Spouses of qualifying Veterans
To receive a vaccine under one of the above qualifications, the individual being vaccinated must either accompany the Veteran or provide the name and social security number of the qualifying Veteran.
Truman VA’s COVID-19 vaccine clinic is open from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Friday, at the medical center, located at 800 Hospital Drive, Columbia, Missouri. Although an appointment isn’t necessary to receive a vaccination, it is recommended. The telephone number to call to make an appointment to be vaccinated is (573) 814-6000, extension 54300.
“We will continue to prioritize the vaccination of enrolled Veterans who receive VA health care,” said Patricia Hall, PhD, FACHE, medical center director of Truman VA. “However, the SAVE LIVES Act allows us to immunize more of our Veterans, as well as spouses and caregivers. As a result, we now can make an even bigger impact on the health of our community by offering to vaccinate more people. As a Veteran myself, I’m proud to be part of an organization that is so forward-thinking and continues to lead the way in this fight against COVID-19.”
To date, Truman VA has administered more than 26,000 first and second doses of one of three different COVID-19 vaccines to include the Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines. Nationally, VA has administered more than 1 million vaccinations.
