Walk-In Flu Vaccination Clinic Update Some planned dates cancelled

St. Cloud, Minn: Veteran walk-in flu clinics scheduled on Oct. 12 and Oct. 14 at the St. Cloud VA Medical Center, and on Oct. 15 in Alexandria are cancelled.  

A walk-in flu clinic scheduled on Saturday, Oct. 9, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., at Bldg. 96 at the St. Cloud VA medical Center will proceed as scheduled. 

Due to high demand at previous walk-in flu clinics and a shipping delay by the manufacturer for a planned second shipment of influenza vaccine, St. Cloud VA facilities will prioritize influenza vaccine supplies to residential Veterans and outpatient Veterans attending other scheduled appointments.

Upon receipt of the second vaccine shipment, an assessment as to whether to schedule additional walk-in flu clinics will be undertaken.

“We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience this causes for our Veterans who were planning to attend one of these walk-in flu shot clinics,” said St. Cloud VA HCS Chief of Staff Dr. Scott Bartley. “We understand this interrupts their health planning during the flu season, and regret that the planned shipment has been delayed.”

“We’d be pleased to provide a flu shot to those Veterans who have an appointment later this fall, or Veterans can take advantage of VA’s Community Care Network to obtain a free flu shot,” he added.  

Eligible Veterans can receive free flu shots at more than 69,000 Community Care Network (CCN) retail pharmacies and urgent care locations.

Veterans can use the VA Locator to find a VA facility, in-network retail pharmacy or urgent care location near them by visiting: https://www.va.gov/find-locations

Veterans should call ahead to make sure the flu shot is available at the location of their choosing. Veterans can find in-network locations in their area by entering:

• City, state, or postal code: Enter the appropriate ZIP code for your area
• Facility Type: Select "Urgent Care" OR "Community pharmacies (in VA’s network)"
• Service Type: If "Urgent Care" is selected for Facility Type, choose "Community urgent care
  providers (in VA’s network)"

Veterans using the CCN should tell the in-network community care staff they are an eligible Veteran enrolled with VA, and show a government-issued identification (e.g., Veterans Health Identification Card or driver’s license).

Stand-alone flu shot visits to in-network community urgent care providers are copay free and are not counted as an urgent care visit. Other vaccinations are not available through the CCN.