DENVER — Tore Arnesen, 74, was in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War. He is a combat veteran and relies on health care benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
"I signed up and started waiting, and noticing more and more 70 plus were getting vaccines and I wasn't getting anywhere," he said Wednesday.
Arnesen said he kept waiting, hoping to figure out when he would be scheduled. He also watched others who are 70 and older get vaccinated through other providers.
"The longer we wait, the more at risk we are at," he said. "And the more risk we are at to get the virus, the more risk we are to fall seriously ill or even die."
A spokeswoman for the VA Eastern Colorado Health Care System gave some insight, saying the VA is following guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). That means its system for distribution is different than the state of Colorado.
In a statement, the VA said:
"We are currently offering vaccines to the CDC vaccine priority group 1b, which is largely comprised of individuals 75 and older. All Veterans enrolled in our health care system who meet this eligibility criteria have been contacted at least once through an automated phone call. If they missed that call and are interested in scheduling a vaccine appointment, they should contact the VA Eastern Colorado Health Care System's call center at 888.336.8262 and select option 2 to schedule an appointment."
This is different than the state plan, which puts people 70 and older in phase 1b.
As for doses assigned to the VA Hospital, the vaccines are coming straight from the federal government and are a separate allocation from the state, according to the spokeswoman for the VA Eastern Colorado Health Care System.
"VA Eastern Colorado Health Care System has been receiving an average of 1,000 doses a week. This is an average and can vary week to week. As of end of day January 26, 2021, we had vaccinated just under 1500 Veterans with an additional 1,000 Veteran vaccine appointments scheduled through the end of this week," a spokesperson said via email.
There are around 11,000 eligible veterans in group 1B actively receiving care from the VA Eastern Colorado Health Care System.
The VA said their goal is to get as many veterans vaccinated as quickly as possible, which is why the word of advice is if veterans can get vaccines through other providers quicker, they should do that and explore all options:
"Our goal is to provide our Veterans with the vaccine as safely and efficiently as possible. If a Veteran utilizes another resource that becomes available to them sooner, they can have that documented in their medical record by reporting it to their care team. I think the end goal for everyone is to have the highest percent of our population vaccinated. If a Veteran who receives care from us happens to receive their vaccine from one of our community partners, then at the end of the day, we are one vaccine closer to the end goal."
Arensen ultimately was able to get an appointment for a vaccine outside the VA system for next week in Thornton.
As for the VA, the VA Eastern Colorado Health Care System said vaccine appointments for the Rocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center are full through the end of February. There are appointments available as soon as this Saturday at their Pueblo VA Clinic.
Any eligible veteran enrolled within the system can contact the call center to schedule an appointment at the Pueblo clinic or any open vaccination clinics.
As for veterans who aren't eligible yet, the VA is asking that they let them know about their interest in the vaccine here.
The VA said when supplies allow and it can expand who it offers vaccines to, they will reach out to eligible veterans directly, as well as hold town halls and send out e-mails.
Regarding the state plan, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment told 9NEWS that veterans fall into phases based on their eligibility under the phases, with factors including occupation, age or health conditions.
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