Title:SAVE LIVES Act allows VA to soon provide COVID-19 vaccinations to all Veterans, their spouses and caregivers
Author:VAntagePoint Contributor
Date:April 2021
Source:U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs © 2021, Reprinted with permission
Volume:Volume 3 Issue 174
All Veterans, their spouses and caregivers can soon get COVID-19 vaccinations from VA under the SAVE LIVES Act signed into law March 24.
For the latest information, Stay Informed here.
Covered individuals can receive a vaccine from VA due to the ongoing COVID-19 public health emergency. Under the bill, covered individuals are:
- Veterans who are not eligible to enroll in the VA health care system;
- specified Veterans who are eligible for hospital care, medical services, and nursing home care abroad;
- family caregivers approved as providers of personal care services for Veterans under the VA's Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers;
- caregivers of Veterans participating in the VA's Program of General Caregiver Support Services; and
- caregivers of Veterans participating in the VA's Medical Foster Home Program, Bowel and Bladder Program, Home Based Primary Care Program, or Veteran Directed Care Program.
- Civilian Health and Medical Programs of the Department of Veterans Affairs recipients.
- Veteran spouses.
VA must prioritize the vaccination of (1) Veterans enrolled in the VA health care system, (2) Veterans who fail to enroll but receive hospital care and medical services for specified disabilities in their first 12 months of separation from service, and (3) caregivers accompanying such prioritized Veterans. Additionally, vaccines furnished abroad are authorized to be furnished in a geographic location other than a state regardless of whether vaccines are needed for the treatment of Veterans with a service-connected disability. This includes those participating in a VA rehabilitation program.
More information
To learn how to get COVID-19 vaccine from VA, visit blogs.va.gov/VAntage/84404/veterans-designated-caregivers-can-get-covid-19-vaccine-va.
Find answers to general VA COVID-19 vaccine questions at va.gov/health-care/covid-19-vaccine.
To receive ongoing updates about VA's COVID-19 vaccine efforts and to indicate your interest in getting the vaccine once you're eligible, visit va.gov/health-care/covid-19-vaccine/stay-informed.
Read the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine fact sheet at fda.gov/media/144638/download.
View the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine fact sheet at fda.gov/media/144413/download.
Read the Janssen COVID-19 fact sheet at fda.gov/media/146305/download.
