According to various reports, the VA Clinic at Lake Baldwin and the VA Medical Center at Lake Nona are among the 128 new facilities that will receive the COVID 19 vaccine.
Let’s make sure our Orlando veterans can get into the facilities to receive it.
If it sounds strange that veterans would have problems getting a vaccine in facility specifically designed to provide care for them, you would be right.
But getting seen at these facilities, especially Lake Nona is not easy. Our veterans, must continually traverse red tape, and a calendar that never seems to be open in order to get care.
And there have been complaints from groups like the American Legion, that getting scene in Florida during the pandemic has been difficult.
The Central Florida community must ensure that the doors at these VA facilities in Florida are being used to let our bravest men and women into their halls and not being used to shut them out.
As one of the states in the country with the biggest population of veterans, in a hotspot like Florida, we have to be aggressive. Especially for our older vets who have chosen to retire here in and fall into the most vulnerable of at risk groups.
If you’re a veteran, support each other and make sure you can get in and vaccinated.
If you’re a family member of a veteran, listen to them and ensure they’re getting the care they need.
And if they’re not, tell your elected officials.
The Orlando VA has not earned the benefit of the doubt in this regard. And we have to ensure that their administrators are doing everything they can to help veterans and not just themselves.