WWII Vet First To Receive COVID-19 Vaccine As VA Begins Distribution Process
January 01, 2021
VA facilities began administering the first doses of the newly released COVID-19 vaccine. A 96-year-old World War II veteran, Margaret Klessens, a resident at the VA long term care facility in Bedford, Massachusetts, was the first veteran to receive the shot.
Thirty-seven specially selected VA facilities were chosen to be the first to distribute the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine when it was released in early December. The facilities were selected for their ability to vaccinate many people and proper storage capability. The vaccine must be stored at an extremely cold temperature.
Because only limited amounts of the vaccine have been made available, the VA has determined that a tiered approach to giving out the vaccine would be best. The first initial offering phase will vaccinate more vulnerable populations, including frontline medical workers and veterans who live in long-term care Community Living and Spinal Cord Injury and Disorder centers.
When the vaccine is widely available, the VA will begin a general implementation phase, in which it will offer the vaccine to any veteran receiving VA care who wants one.
Margaret Klessens enlisted in the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps in 1943 and served until the end of the war. Her daughter reported that Klessens was happy to be vaccinated and said that she “felt fine” afterward. In addition to Klessens, housekeeping staff member Andrew Miller was also vaccinated. He said that it felt like a flu shot, no more than a pinch.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is 95 percent effective at preventing COVID-19 infection in clinical trials. Side effects appear to be minimal and do not last long, like other vaccines already in use. The vaccine is administered in two doses, given 21 days apart.
The VA will work closely with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to monitor all vaccine patients and report all vaccine data directly to the CDC.