Milwaukee VA holds COVID-19 vaccine clinic for veterans
MILWAUKEE - Another group of people is now eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine; the Milwaukee VA enrolled veterans 55 and older on Saturday, March 6.
The walk-in clinic had folks walking out grateful -- a simple process and easy decision for those who turned out.
Veterans waited for little to no time Saturday to get the shot they'd been hoping to get for nearly a year.
"I'm in! Get this junk over with. Get back to semi-normal life," 63-year-old Mike Milford said.
Milwaukee VA Medical Center
More than just a needle, the vaccine means a lot to veteran Kimberly Krawczyk.
"I’m kind of getting emotional this is wonderful," Krawczyk said. "I can hug my niece, I can hug my aunt and uncle, I can be less afraid I’m going to die from COVID."
Some were thankful for the chance to protect themselves and others.
"I'm happy to finally get the shot. I take care of my 90-year-old mother, so it’s nice to know I’ll be safe around her as well," veteran Richard Bialk said.
COVID-19 vaccination at the Milwaukee VA
Quelling fear and providing hope, the Milwaukee VA had more than 600 vaccines to administer Saturday to enrolled veterans -- and is reaching out to help get more immunized.
"We are also proactively scheduling, calling patients and scheduling appointments throughout the week," said Dr. Kim Bell, chief of pharmacy at the Milwaukee VA. "We also have a vet text system that can automatically text vets with the numbers they give us and it can correspond back and forth without a computer system to get that appointment scheduled."
COVID-19 vaccination clinic at the Milwaukee VA
The process takes a moment of your time that Krawczyk encourages: "We’ve given up a year of our lives, over 500,000 people have died. It breaks my heart where we are. Everyone needs to get a vaccine so we can go back to normal life."
Veterans who received the vaccine on Saturday will return on our around March 27th for their second shot.
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For more information about the vaccine, enrollment and more, the Milwaukee VA's COVID-19 vaccination team will host a virtual town hall for veterans on its Facebook page this Wednesday from noon until 1 p.m. Questions are welcome.
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