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Veterans Experience Live (VetXL): COVID-19 Vaccine Q&A. Join on March 3rd to ask your questions
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Please adhere to RallyPoint Answers and Discussion Conduct: https://rly.pt/33ySsg0
Due to the anticipated interest in the topic, and the possibility for receiving large amounts of questions, please be patient as the subject matter experts (SMEs) from Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Health & Human Services (HHS) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) work to respond to your questions. Unanswered questions will be disseminated to the SMEs and will be responded to shortly thereafter.
VA also has a COVID-19 Frequently Asked Questions page here: http://rly.pt/VAcovidFAQ
Stay informed about getting the COVID-19 Vaccine here: COVID-19 vaccines: http://rly.pt/VAstayinformed
Ask questions to the following experts:
» Dr. Andrea Lerner, MD - Medical Officer, Office of the Director, NIAID, NIH
» Dr. Dr. Jane Kim, MD - Chief Consultant, Preventive Medicine, VA
» Dr. Sara Oliver, MD, MSPH, LCDR - U.S. Public Health Service, Vaccine Task Force, CDC
Access to critical Veteran COVID-19 Vaccine information:
» COVID-19 Vaccines for Veterans: https://www.va.gov/health-care/covid-19-vaccine/
» Department of Veterans Affairs: https://www.publichealth.va.gov/n-coronavirus/
» CDC: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/ index.html
» HHS National Institute of Health Research: https://covid19.nih.gov
NIAID conducts and supports research at NIH, throughout the United States, and worldwide to study the causes of infectious and immune-mediated diseases, and to develop better means of preventing, diagnosing and treating these illnesses. NIAID scientists and grantees are working to rapidly develop COVID-19 diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines. These projects include conducting basic research and developing animal models to understand how the virus infects cells and causes disease, and what interventions can prevent and stop the spread of disease, as well as clinical trials evaluating therapies and vaccine candidates.
About the National Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention: The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) National Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention (NCP) https://www.prevention.va.gov provides leadership for Department of Veterans Affairs’ national COVID-19 vaccine planning and rollout across the country. NCP leads a multi-disciplinary team that coordinates the VA’s COVID-19 vaccine communication, allocation and distribution efforts.
NCP is a field-based national program of VA’s Office of Patient Care Services that
strives to improve the quality of life for Veterans. NCP provides health care resources
for Veterans (https://www.prevention.va.gov/For_Veterans_and_the_Public.asp) and the public relating to disease prevention and healthy living, including links to other VA and government resources. NCP provides VA clinicians with evidence-based clinician training (https://www.prevention.va.gov/For_Clinicians/), guidance, tools and resources including clinician fact sheets, patient handouts and VA- and government-wide resources to support the delivery of high-quality health promotion and disease prevention services.
NCP also produces publications including VHA Prevention Policies and Guides (https://www.prevention.va.gov/Publications/VHA_Prevention_Policies_and_Guidelines.asp), as well as its annual NCP Highlights (https://www.prevention.va.gov/Publications/) that summarizes NCP activities and accomplishments.
CDC is focused on getting Americans vaccinated and ending the COVID-19 pandemic. A strong, nationally coordinated approach is critical to ensuring ALL individuals who wish to receive vaccine can receive it. Veterans Affairs (VA) is one of five federal agencies receiving a direct allocation of vaccine from the federal government to vaccinate their frontline workforce and persons in their care. CDC has been assisting VA with planning for this direct allocation of vaccine to VA for staff and veterans by providing technical assistance to VA planners on vaccine prioritization, storage and handling, IT systems, administration and communications. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/
Team Up Against COVID-19! Register now to submit additional questions to be answered on March 4th by Dr. Fauci here: https://rly.pt/3snlqZn
Due to the anticipated interest in the topic, and the possibility for receiving large amounts of questions, please be patient as the subject matter experts (SMEs) from Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Health & Human Services (HHS) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) work to respond to your questions. Unanswered questions will be disseminated to the SMEs and will be responded to shortly thereafter.
VA also has a COVID-19 Frequently Asked Questions page here: http://rly.pt/VAcovidFAQ
Stay informed about getting the COVID-19 Vaccine here: COVID-19 vaccines: http://rly.pt/VAstayinformed
Ask questions to the following experts:
» Dr. Andrea Lerner, MD - Medical Officer, Office of the Director, NIAID, NIH
» Dr. Dr. Jane Kim, MD - Chief Consultant, Preventive Medicine, VA
» Dr. Sara Oliver, MD, MSPH, LCDR - U.S. Public Health Service, Vaccine Task Force, CDC
Access to critical Veteran COVID-19 Vaccine information:
» COVID-19 Vaccines for Veterans: https://www.va.gov/health-care/covid-19-vaccine/
» Department of Veterans Affairs: https://www.publichealth.va.gov/n-coronavirus/
» CDC: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/ index.html
» HHS National Institute of Health Research: https://covid19.nih.gov
NIAID conducts and supports research at NIH, throughout the United States, and worldwide to study the causes of infectious and immune-mediated diseases, and to develop better means of preventing, diagnosing and treating these illnesses. NIAID scientists and grantees are working to rapidly develop COVID-19 diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines. These projects include conducting basic research and developing animal models to understand how the virus infects cells and causes disease, and what interventions can prevent and stop the spread of disease, as well as clinical trials evaluating therapies and vaccine candidates.
About the National Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention: The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) National Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention (NCP) https://www.prevention.va.gov provides leadership for Department of Veterans Affairs’ national COVID-19 vaccine planning and rollout across the country. NCP leads a multi-disciplinary team that coordinates the VA’s COVID-19 vaccine communication, allocation and distribution efforts.
NCP is a field-based national program of VA’s Office of Patient Care Services that
strives to improve the quality of life for Veterans. NCP provides health care resources
for Veterans (https://www.prevention.va.gov/For_Veterans_and_the_Public.asp) and the public relating to disease prevention and healthy living, including links to other VA and government resources. NCP provides VA clinicians with evidence-based clinician training (https://www.prevention.va.gov/For_Clinicians/), guidance, tools and resources including clinician fact sheets, patient handouts and VA- and government-wide resources to support the delivery of high-quality health promotion and disease prevention services.
NCP also produces publications including VHA Prevention Policies and Guides (https://www.prevention.va.gov/Publications/VHA_Prevention_Policies_and_Guidelines.asp), as well as its annual NCP Highlights (https://www.prevention.va.gov/Publications/) that summarizes NCP activities and accomplishments.
CDC is focused on getting Americans vaccinated and ending the COVID-19 pandemic. A strong, nationally coordinated approach is critical to ensuring ALL individuals who wish to receive vaccine can receive it. Veterans Affairs (VA) is one of five federal agencies receiving a direct allocation of vaccine from the federal government to vaccinate their frontline workforce and persons in their care. CDC has been assisting VA with planning for this direct allocation of vaccine to VA for staff and veterans by providing technical assistance to VA planners on vaccine prioritization, storage and handling, IT systems, administration and communications. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/
Team Up Against COVID-19! Register now to submit additional questions to be answered on March 4th by Dr. Fauci here: https://rly.pt/3snlqZn
Coronavirus COVID19
Health
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
Responses: 53
First, thank you for what you are doing to help us stay safe, keep our loved ones alive, and get back to life as usual asap. My question is around wasted vaccine doses. How can we deploy new practices to keep them from being wasted (if doses are still being wasted)? Can there be standby systems where people get text alerts if there are unused & about to expire doses, can we wait in our cars at hospital parking lots at certain times of the days, can extra doses be driven to local schools for teachers at a certain time each day, etc.?
Hello, my name is Andrea Lerner. I am an infectious diseases physician and medical officer at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), National Institutes of Health (NIH).
SPC Victor Sellers
Doctor, are you able to detect if a person has ever had malaria, even 50 years later? I hear it is possible. Thank you!
Victor Sellers
Victor Sellers
Hello! My name is Sara Oliver. I'm a LCDR in the US Public Heath Service, and a Medical Officer at CDC. I am a pediatric infectious disease physician and lead the ACIP COVID-19 vaccines Work Group.
Ryan Callahan
Hi Dr. Oliver, we appreciate you stopping by. Thank you for your public health service!
I have had an uphill battle explaining the vaccine benifits with several close family members and fellow veterans. What is the biggest objection you’re hearing from veterans and how are you going about addressing it?
1stLt Amy Eck
An issue you may come across is that there is no evidence showing that the vaccine prevents the spread of the virus, how often it will need to be taken (possibly every 3 months), long term affects, and that is an unapproved vaccine. The virus is 99% survival by most of the military population, the vaccine may not have as high a rating.
LCpl Laurence Puco
There is not any FDA approval, at all, already had my 1st shot, and no adverse reaction, just like boot camp, but with a shit load less needles. I actually had more arm pain with the shingles shots than the covid-19 shot; just passing on my own observation. Good luck and hoorah!
Sgt Mary Thor
PO1 Sherry Michel - Nancy and Sherry, clearly your intent is to spread fear and you cite no facts.
Dr. Jane Kim
Veterans, as well as the public, have questions about the vaccines because they are new. Many of the common facts and myths that Veterans ask about are addressed on these CDC COVID-19 vaccine sites: Frequently Asked Questions and this one which lists common myths and facts about COVID-19 vaccines.
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/faq.html
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/facts.html
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/faq.html
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/facts.html
Frequently Asked Questions about COVID-19 Vaccination
Answers to commonly asked questions about COVID-19 vaccines, including vaccine cost, availability, and types.
Here are some great resources for Veterans:
Sign up for VA’s Keep Me Informed tool https://www.va.gov/health-care/covid-19-vaccine/stay-informed
COVID-19 vaccines at VA website https://www.va.gov/health-care/covid-19-vaccine/ where Veterans can also sign up to stay informed about VA’s COVID-19 vaccine plans
To send a secure message to your VA health care team: https://www.va.gov/health-care/secure-messaging/
VA’s Access to Care site: To see status of VA COVID-19 vaccination and COVID-19 cases
https://www.accesstocare.va.gov/Healthcare/COVID19NationalSummary
To see if your local VA facility has available vaccine, please go to the local facility website. From the left column, choose “Health Care Services.” From the dropdown menu, choose “COVID-19 Vaccines.”
To find your local VA location: https://www.va.gov/find-locations/
VA COVID-19 Vaccination Plan https://www.publichealth.va.gov/docs/n-coronavirus/VHA-COVID-Vaccine- Plan-14Dec2020.pdf
Sign up for VA’s Keep Me Informed tool https://www.va.gov/health-care/covid-19-vaccine/stay-informed
COVID-19 vaccines at VA website https://www.va.gov/health-care/covid-19-vaccine/ where Veterans can also sign up to stay informed about VA’s COVID-19 vaccine plans
To send a secure message to your VA health care team: https://www.va.gov/health-care/secure-messaging/
VA’s Access to Care site: To see status of VA COVID-19 vaccination and COVID-19 cases
https://www.accesstocare.va.gov/Healthcare/COVID19NationalSummary
To see if your local VA facility has available vaccine, please go to the local facility website. From the left column, choose “Health Care Services.” From the dropdown menu, choose “COVID-19 Vaccines.”
To find your local VA location: https://www.va.gov/find-locations/
VA COVID-19 Vaccination Plan https://www.publichealth.va.gov/docs/n-coronavirus/VHA-COVID-Vaccine- Plan-14Dec2020.pdf
COVID-19 vaccines: Stay informed and help us prepare
We’re working to get COVID-19 vaccines to Veterans as quickly and safely as possible based on CDC guidelines and available supply. Stay informed and help us prepare.
What resources and study do you have and what studies have been successfully conducted on a vaccine that doesn’t really address a virus that hasn’t been properly studied to be a vaccine?
SrA Kevin Rooney
It’s really sad I was just reading an article that was posted in the JAMA. They were studying affects of zinc and vitamin D and Covid positive patients. They found that it didn’t really help even though they never mentioned the one day less symptoms while using it. The other problem with the study is they used a form of zinc that essentially is useless. It was very easy to find another research paper that proved the form they used did not raise the levelIn the blood. So it begs the question are they that incompetent or are they trying to dissuade people from taking vitamins
Dr. Jane Kim
Before the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) determines whether to approve a vaccine or authorize a vaccine for emergency use, clinical trials are conducted to determine vaccine efficacy. In clinical trials, vaccines were effective across age, gender, racial and ethnic backgrounds. The Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines reduce the risk of getting COVID-19 by about 95%.
After FDA approves a vaccine or authorizes a vaccine for emergency use, it continues to be studied to determine how well it works under real-world conditions. CDC and other federal partners are continuing to assess COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness under real-world conditions.
Visit the CDC for more information on vaccine safety monitoring.
Visit the CDC to learn more about COVID-19 Vaccine Effectiveness Research.
https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7008e3.htm
https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/covid-19/effectiveness-research/protocols.html
After FDA approves a vaccine or authorizes a vaccine for emergency use, it continues to be studied to determine how well it works under real-world conditions. CDC and other federal partners are continuing to assess COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness under real-world conditions.
Visit the CDC for more information on vaccine safety monitoring.
Visit the CDC to learn more about COVID-19 Vaccine Effectiveness Research.
https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7008e3.htm
https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/covid-19/effectiveness-research/protocols.html
First Month of COVID-19 Vaccine Safety Monitoring ...
This report describes monitoring, conducted as part of the ...
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Thank you everyone for joining today's event. Please share your COVID-19 Vaccine questions now! Thank you for your patience as our team of VA, CDC, and NIAID experts address your questions.
Thank you for all the information, keep up the good work, at least at the local level, JAX CBOC, NC.
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https://www.fda.gov/emergency-preparedness-and-response/coronavirus-disease-2019-covid-19/covid-19-vaccines
COVID-19 Vaccines
The FDA has regulatory processes in place to facilitate the development of COVID-19 vaccines that meet the FDA's rigorous scientific standards.
The decision to have standby systems is determined by VA facilities at the local level. For more information, please reach out to your local facility.
To see if your local VA facility has available vaccine, please go to the local facility website. From the left column, choose “Health Care Services.” From the dropdown menu, choose “COVID-19 Vaccines.”
To find out about local vaccine availability in the community, including the potential for text alerts, local vaccine providers may be identified through the CDC vaccine locator tool. For additional options, you can also check with your state or local health department or local pharmacies as to whether text alert systems are available.
https://vaccinefinder.org/
https://www.cdc.gov/publichealthgateway/healthdirectories/healthdepartments.html
VaccineFinder
Vaccine Finder is a free, online service where users can search for locations that offer vaccinations.