Recently, the Bronx V.A. Hospital, also known as the James J. Peters Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, has quietly begun vaccinating veterans of all ages. Soldiers from the different branches of service have been invited to the Kingsbridge Road medical center to get inoculated with the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine since Friday, Feb. 12.

 

Current guidelines from the New York State Department of Health only include people over the age of 65, frontline workers, public safety workers, public transit workers, teachers and adults with pre-existing conditions.

 

Arnaldo Colon, of Pelham Parkway is a retired staff sergeant with the Army National Guard’s 145th Maintenance Company, which was formerly based at the Kingsbridge Armory. Colon received his shot at the Bronx V.A. Hospital on Sunday, Feb. 14.

 

On Feb. 16, Colon, now a peace officer at the Hunts Point Terminal Market, recalled, “The V.A. sent out a mass text to all members stating the time and date that the COVID shot would be given.” Colon said the entire process took less than an hour and despite some slight swelling at the injection site, and a slight fever, two days after getting the vaccine, he said he was feeling “back to normal.”

 

“My wife is skeptical,” Colon continued. “I ask her why she doesn’t want it.” He said he told her it was because she didn’t want to. “You know women,” he said. “They don’t give you a logical answer. I kind of convinced her that it’s for her health and safety, but she’s given me so many excuses, I think she’s been listening too much to social media.”

 

Still, Colon’s wife is not currently eligible to get the vaccine, so Colon was asked how he felt to be the only one in his home to be vaccinated. Colon said he didn’t feel happy about it, but that the family take a lot of precautions like hand washing, keeping a safe distance and wearing a mask.

 

Chris Perkins, 48, of Norwood is also a retired staff sergeant with the 145th Maintenance Company. After getting his shot on Feb. 14, he said, “It’s good to see people are thinking of the veterans because a lot of us are not of that age yet,” referring to the minimum age requirement of 65, to be eligible to get the COVID-19 vaccine in New York State.

 

Perkins continued, “They just said it was an open house – any veterans, first come, first served and veterans of all ages got it.” He added that between 30 to 40 veterans were in the COVID-19 vaccination line when he went on St. Valentine’s Day.

 

In a follow up interview with the Norwood News on Monday, Feb. 22, Perkins said that he believed the Bronx V.A. Hospital had approval to administer the shots to all veterans, but he added, “They just don’t want to make it public information.”

 

Perkins said this was because people are getting upset and asking why veterans are skipping the line. “And, I don’t think we are,” he said. “We are, in a way still, the first line of defense – those of us that are still active duty – though I am not.”

Both Perkins and Colon are expected to get their second dose of the vaccine on March 15.

 

On Tuesday, Feb. 22, Jean McLaughlin, the interim public affairs officer at the James J. Peters Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, confirmed that indeed veterans were getting vaccinated at the site. “We started the vaccine back in December.” she said. “That’s when our nursing home veterans, our employees, and our spinal cord injury patients had it, and then slowly, at the end of December, January, we had 85 years and older. Then, we moved down to 75 and older, and then at 65 and older is where we are right now.”

 

McLaughlin added that the “open house” for vets of all ages which is taking place over the course of two weekends is based on how many doses the center receives, as well as CDC guidelines.

 

She said, “Veterans who are registered here for care, who are receiving care from us are the ones we’ve been basically reaching out to,” via postcards and social media posts. The vaccine program is also open to members of Veterans Administration clinics in Yonkers, White Plains and Queens, N.Y.

 

As reported previously by Norwood News, The New York City greater metropolitan area is home to over a million service members, veterans and their families. As of the most recently available data from the American Community Survey and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (DVS) in 2016, NYC veterans are distributed throughout the city as follows:

• Queens: 27.9%, or 58,815
• Brooklyn: 25.7%, or 54,178
• Manhattan: 18.3%, or 38,577
• The Bronx: 17.9%, or 37,495
• Staten Island: 10.2%, or 21,502

DVS estimates there to be 189,808 veterans of “active duty” and 21,000 estimated National Guard and reservists.

 

There are a number of vaccination sites across the Bronx where eligible people can get vaccinated. To find a site close to you, go to https://vaccinefinder.nyc.gov/locations. Some of the larger locations are listed below.

 

Any Bronxite who meets the current criteria for vaccination, who would like to schedule an appointment at Montefiore Medical Center can call (844) 444-CV19, Monday through Friday between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m.

 

Those who meet the current vaccination eligibility criteria can also make an appointment at Yankee Stadium by calling 1 (833) SOMOSNY.

 

Any seniors who are 65 years of age or older can arrange for a free Access-a-Ride transportation to and from their local vaccine center by calling (877) VAX-4NYC.