VA Vaccine Clinic Gets a Thumbs-Up

I wasn’t the only one walking down the street toward the Department of Veterans Affairs pop-up vaccine clinic. In fact, there were about six guys who were doing the same thing I was: scoping out the situation before actually getting in the drive-up line for the vaccine.

I’ll say it right off the top here: The VA did this right. They did a good job on the logistics and execution. Here in town, they’d selected a location with lots of space outside. There was an army of volunteers of all kinds, laying out a traffic cone grid in the parking lot, directing cars along the rows, nurses with tablets taking information, VA medical staff giving shots through car windows. There was even an observation area where cars would park afterward (with medical staff there) in case a veteran had a bad reaction.

“Looks pretty good,” said one guy as we hovered on the sidewalk and watched. A few others chimed in, agreeing. One muttered something about an expected SNAFU, but there was none of that to be seen. We stopped a couple of cars with veterans leaving after getting their shots and queried them about how it had gone. SITREP: It was great.

Now that everyone age 16 and up is eligible for the vaccine, and now that SAVE (Strengthening and Amplifying Vaccination Efforts) has opened up a long list of veteran-related people who are eligible, if you want to get the vaccine, make an appointment now. If you wait too long, the demand for vaccines will eventually slack off, and these nearby pop-up clinics will be gone.

Keep an eye on the news for VA pop-up clinics in your area. Judging by how this drive-thru clinic was run, I have confidence that the VA is doing just as well in other areas where they’re giving vaccines: medical centers, community clinics, outreach centers, mobile units -- and even rural parking lots.