LEE COUNTY, Florida. – Veterans have been receiving COVID-19 vaccines in southwest Florida since late December. The VA has been calling to schedule appointments on a limited basis.
On Saturday, the Lee County VA Healthcare Center conducted a mass vaccination for veterans for the first time. NBC2 was one of the first in the country to see how the VA is offering mass vaccines to those who served our country.
From the moment the veterans get out of the car until the moment they hit, they say it’s like clockwork.
“It was really wonderful,” said Navy veteran John Smail. “They were very smooth, highly organized.”
The VA called 1,300 veterans aged 75 and over to schedule appointments on Saturday. Veterans are being prioritized based on their health conditions.
As soon as they arrived and checked in, they were sent to a color-coded pod. In that cocoon, nurses and doctors were ready to go with syringes, pre-loaded with the Modern vaccine to save time.
Everyone has to wait 15 minutes to make sure they are not experiencing any side effects after receiving the vaccine.
“This is the best thing I’ve ever seen,” said Robin Szymanski of Fort Myers.
Many of the veterans and their families were ecstatic to get the first layer of protection against the virus that has killed more than 2 million people worldwide. Most importantly, they are excited to have navigated smoothly.
“If this were happening across the country, we would have all been vaccinated in one month,” said Smail.
The process was so easy that they want the VA to help public vaccination sites.
“I want them to come to Charlotte County and get everything organized there,” said Szymanski. “I’m going to want coffee and donuts.”
This did not happen overnight. Working hours were anticipated by dozens of VA employees.
“They analyzed the flow, they analyzed the planning,” explained Jonathan Benoit, associate director of the Bay Pines VA Healthcare System. “We provide more resources today than we needed, which is always good when you have something like that.”
The challenge now: in four weeks, they need to do it again.
“We will be bringing back all of the more than 1,000 veterans we vaccinated today four weeks from today for the second part of the vaccine,” said Benoit.
The VA plans to run these mass vaccination clinics as often as possible, but it all depends on the supply of the vaccine.
If you are a veteran and have not received a call to get vaccinated, VA officials recommend that you be patient.