CLEVELAND — The VA Northeast Ohio Healthcare System is helping prepare veterans for the fight against COVID-19.


What You Need To Know

  • The VA Northeast Ohio Healthcare System is encouraging veterans to get COVID vaccinations

  • About 55,000 of the 110,000 veterans enrolled for care through the VA are fully vaccinated

  • The majority of the VA's patient population is at a higher risk of hospitalization from the virus, if not vaccinated

Even with virus' variants causing concerns, doctors at the VA said the original COVID-19 vaccine is the most effective protection from becoming hospitalized. 

“The vaccine is safe and it saves your life,” said Dr. Robert Bonomo, associate chief of staff for academic affairs for the VA Northeast Ohio Healthcare System. 

To date, he said about half of the 110,000 veterans in the area enrolled to receive services through the VA are fully vaccinated from the virus, not counting the additional booster shot. 

“The first two doses give you 90% efficacy,” Bonomo said. “The boost gets you up to 99%, but the 90% is really what saves lives.”

The health system currently cares for veterans ranging in age from those who served in World War II to more recent conflicts, with an average patient age of about 65. That puts the majority of the patient population at a higher risk of hospitalization from the virus, if not vaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“We can target a lot of our educational efforts and our outreach programs to the veterans most at risk, and that can benefit most from the vaccine,” Bonomo said. 

The VA’s been using social media to encourage veterans to receive the vaccine, in addition to clinics and other outreach. 

He said a nationwide study of veterans published in December by the New England Journal of Medicine shows the vaccine’s effectiveness. 

“Between a 94.5% and a 96% efficacy by keeping them out of the hospital and preventing mortality and severe illness,” Bonomo said. 

He said the technology used in the vaccines has never been used before and can be difficult to understand. 

“I would be happy to sit down with somebody and explain what the technology of this vaccine is and how it produces very effective immunity,” Bonomo said. 

It’s a conversation he hopes health care providers embrace and never give up on educating patients about the vaccine’s benefits. 

“Think about it this way: 30 minutes in an office trying to educate somebody is better than 30 days in the hospital,” he said. 

Bonomo said he’s inspired by the advances in medicine. 

“We realize that everybody has a right to refuse and those are rights that we have, but I think that if you’re educated and you see the importance of this — and our responsibility is to provide the right educational material, so it can get across, the message can get across clearly,” Bonomo said. 

The VA Northeast Ohio Healthcare System has COVID vaccine doses available for veterans. To learn more about enrolling to receive services, email enrollvaneo@va.gov or call 216-707-7914.