Protect yourself from COVID variants
Protecting Veterans, our staff, and those in the community, remains Houston VA’s top priority during the COVID-19 pandemic.
As part of that commitment, we are currently following many COVID-19 variants, and we expect to see more variants arise. What is of critical importance is having as many people vaccinated as possible. Time is of the essence!
Research tells us that the Delta variant, which has caused many hospitalizations and deaths in India, spreads more easily and quickly than other variants. According to the CDC, there is additional concern that the medical treatments we are using to treat COVID-19 patients may be less effective against this variant. Over the past month, the Delta variant has rapidly spread and expanded in the Houston area.
Research also shows that COVID-19 vaccines offer good protection against the variants we know most about, and widespread vaccination can prevent unnecessary deaths and hospitalizations. We believe that the newer types of vaccines we have now are true “pandemic fighters” and, by design, are well suited to adding new “targets” to fight these variants.
Have you gotten your first dose and don’t think you need your second? Consider this: The Delta variant most severely impacts those who are either unvaccinated or only received their first of two-dose vaccine series, such as Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna. If someone is late for their second dose, they should still get it. VA will provide the second doses to employees, Veterans or anyone who qualifies under the Save Lives Act such as spouses and caregivers, no matter where they received their first dose, if that is more convenient. You can walk in without an appointment to get the vaccine at our main Houston VA Medical Center Monday through Friday between 7:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. You can also walk in to our outpatient clinics in Beaumont, Conroe, Katy, Lake Jackson, Lufkin, Richmond, Texas City, and Tomball to get the vaccine.
If you are undecided about getting the vaccine and need more information to make a decision, check out our Vaccine Questions page, which includes videos, downloadable information and frequently asked question. Time is of the essence.