Tester Announces 1,200 COVID-19 Vaccines for Montana Veterans and Spouses this Week

Hundreds of vaccines slated for veterans and families in Kalispell and Billings following signing of Senator’s SAVE LIVES Act

U.S. Senator Jon Tester today announced that following his efforts as Chairman of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, the Montana VA Health Care System is set to receive 1,200 COVID-19 vaccines this week for veterans, spouses, and staff across the Treasure State.

“I’m proud to have worked with the Administration to secure these additional COVID-19 vaccines for hundreds of veterans and spouses across Montana,” said Chairman Tester. “The science shows this vaccine is a safe and effective tool in the fight to manage the spread of this virus, protect vulnerable populations including our nation’s veterans, and help save lives. That’s why I’ll keep pushing for more doses to ensure every veteran has access to the protection they need so we may put this pandemic behind us and our economy back on track.”

Appointments for veterans, spouses, caregivers and staff will be available at the following COVID-19 vaccination clinics:

Kalispell

• 100 first doses and 500 second doses will be administered on Tuesday, April 27

Billings

• 300 first doses will be administered on Thursday, April 29
• 300 second doses will be administered on Friday, April 30

The Montana VA Health Care System began administering COVID-19 vaccines to all veterans, spouses, and caregivers at the beginning of the month as a result of Chairman Tester’s bipartisan Strengthening and Amplifying Vaccination Efforts to Locally Immunize all Veterans and Every Spouse Act (SAVE LIVES Act)—law allowing the Department to provide COVID vaccination services to veterans and their families, regardless of whether they are enrolled in VA health care.

Veterans who would like to verify their eligibility to receive a COVID-19 vaccine under Tester’s SAVE LIVES Act, must contact (877) 468-8387 select Option 2, and then Option 2 again. This includes Priority 8e and 8g Veterans. Once eligibility is verified, qualifying veterans, their spouses or veteran caregivers can schedule a vaccination at any of the upcoming Montana VA COVID-19 vaccination clinics.

For months, Tester has been fighting to ensure Montana’s veterans and VA staff get their fair share of the COVID-19 vaccine supply. He has continually announced vaccine distributions across Montana, with hundreds of vaccines expected to be administered to eligible veterans in other cities in the coming weeks. Last month, he also successfully secured billions in the COVID-19 relief package to vaccinate, support and protect veterans in Montana and across the country.

Last week, Tester teamed up with committee members and Veterans Service Organizations in a bipartisan public service announcement highlighting the safety and efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccine in an effort to increase vaccine confidence among veterans—especially those in rural areas—and help communities recover from the pandemic as quickly as possible.