Harry S. Truman Memorial Veterans’ Hospital began administering second doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to frontline healthcare personnel and high-risk Veterans residing in the facility’s Community Living Center on Tuesday, January 5.
A news release says as part of the initial group of 37 U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers to offer a COVID-19 vaccine, Truman VA began administering the Pfizer vaccine on December 15, 2020. The Pfizer vaccine requires a second dose 21 days after an initial vaccination is administered.
Implementation of Truman VA’s COVID-19 vaccine program included an initial limited supply, where high-risk inpatient Veterans and staff began receiving vaccinations. With additional vaccine now available, Truman VA will increase the number of Veterans who will be offered the opportunity to be vaccinated.
The first patient to receive the COVID-19 vaccination at Truman Veteransâ Hospital on Tuesday was a 99-year-old World War II veteran.
Alvin âBobâ River lives in Montgomery City and will turn 100 years old on Christmas Day, according to Jeffrey Hoelscher, a hospital spokesperson.
Truman Veteransâ Hospital is one of an initial group of 37 VA medical centers across the country that began receiving and administering the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine this week, Hoelscher said.
The initial sites were chosen for their ability to vaccinate large numbers of people and store the vaccine at extremely cold temperatures, he said.
MU Health Care will begin administering vaccines to hospital personnel Wednesday, and Boone Hospital Center will begin its vaccination program Thursday.