VA Presidential Visit
President Biden witnessed Nurse Executive Denise Boehm administer the medical center’s first dose of the Johnson & Johnson/Janssen COVID-19 vaccine to Army Veteran Marvin Cornish, March 8, 2021.
VA Secretary Denis McDonough hosted President Joe Biden along with Dr. Carolyn Clancy, Acting Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs, on March 8 at the Washington DC VA Medical Center. It was the first presidential visit since August 2007 when President George W. Bush visited the medical center.
President Biden visited the Washington DC VA Medical Center to observe the Veterans COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic firsthand and to thank the vaccination team members for their important work. To date, the team has administered 28,780 doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine to frontline health care workers, first responders, Veterans and their primary caregivers. President Biden also witnessed Nurse Executive Denise Boehm administer the medical center’s first dose of the Johnson & Johnson/Janssen COVID-19 vaccine to Army Veteran Marvin Cornish.
The J&J/Janssen vaccine is a single dose and is recommended for those who are 18 years and older. Learn more about the J&J/Janssen vaccine and how CDC is making COVID-19 vaccine recommendations and CDC’s vaccine rollout recommendations.
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 who 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.
Enrolled Veterans meeting the above criteria may call the COVID-19 Vaccine Appointment Line, 202-745-4342 to make an appointment. The appointment line is open Monday – Friday, 6:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. and on Saturdays, 9:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.
Veterans who are not yet enrolled for VA health care may learn about enrollment, by visiting https://www.va.gov/health-care/apply/application/introduction
For more information about the COVID-19 vaccine, visit https://www.washingtondc.va.gov/COVID/COVID_19_Vaccinations.asp
