Written by Michael Palomba
San Diego’s VA healthcare system will not be among the first batch of sites to receive the long-awaited COVID-19 vaccine.
37 veterans sites across the country will be receiving the first round of COVID-19 vaccines, but the 86,000 veterans serviced by the San Diego VA will need to wait for the next batch, which officials say will come before Christmas. With that being said, it is unlikely that the next shipment will be able to cover all 86,000 veterans, so some will have a longer wait.
The VA says that those specific 37 locations were picked based on “their ability to vaccinate large numbers of people and store the vaccines at extremely cold temperatures.”
Specially made freezers that can hold COVID-19 vaccine arrive at Milwaukee VA Medical Center https://t.co/8ogQexWR0z via @tmj4
— Veterans Affairs (@DeptVetAffairs) December 11, 2020
The first distributions will be given to front-line VA healthcare workers as well as veterans who are living in long-term care units.
The San Diego VA put out a statement on Friday saying they were “disappointed” to not be included in the first distribution.
“We do have the ability to store vaccine at extremely low temperatures and to quickly vaccinate large numbers of staff,” wrote Cynthia Butler, the public affairs director for the VA San Diego Healthcare System.
With the COVID-19 vaccine rumored to be approved by the FDA any day now, people across the country are eager to get their hands on it. According to the Washington Post, President Trump has ordered the head of the FDA to approve the vaccine by Friday, or resign. The United Kingdom became the first western country to approve Phizer’s Coronavirus vaccine earlier this week, and Canada approved the vaccine on Wednesday. It is not completely clear why the US is taking more time to approve the vaccine than the aforementioned countries.
Photo by Zoë Meyers/inewsource
