President Joe Biden visited the DC Veterans Affairs Medical Center on Monday, March 8, and watched the vaccination of an army veteran with the facility’s first dose of the Johnson & Johnson/Janssen COVID-19 vaccine.
The first shot was administered by Nurse Executive Denise Boehm to Army Veteran Marvin Cornish at the medical center’s COVID-19 vaccination clinic, during the president’s visit.
Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough and Dr. Carolyn Clancy, Acting Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs, welcomed Biden.
It was the first presidential visit to the center since President George W. Bush‘s visit in August 2007, according to the US Department of Veterans Affairs.
“The Washington DC VA Medical Center’s vaccination team has been working diligently to vaccinate as many Veterans as quickly and safely as possible based on CDC and VA guidelines. The multidisciplinary team is currently offering COVID-19 vaccinations, by appointment only, to enrolled Veterans,” the Department said in a release.
Veterans currently eligible to be inoculated at the center are:
- residing in the VA Community Living Center;
- age 65 or older;
- homeless or residing in group housing settings, such as Access Housing, US Veterans Initiative, Chesapeake Health Education Program, Safe Haven, Veterans on the Rise or VISTA, and have no other access to the vaccine;
- currently on hemodialysis, on the transplant list or have had an organ transplant;
- have cancer and are receiving IV chemotherapy at the medical center;
- essential frontline workers;
- primary and secondary caregivers enrolled in the Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers;
- or have spinal cord injuries/disorders such as: traumatic or blast injuries of the spinal cord; inflammatory/infectious disorders such as multiple sclerosis (MS) or transverse myelitis; and neurodegenerative disorders such as ALS.
To make a vaccination appointment, eligible and enrolled veterans need to call 202-745-4342.
Veterans who are not enrolled for VA health care may visit: https://www.va.gov/health-care/apply/application/introduction