VA Maryland Health Care System

Situation Update

As of Thursday, March 25, 2021 2:11 PM EDT

On March 24, 2021, the President signed the SAVE Lives Act. The law expands VA's authority to provide COVID-19 vaccinations to more Veterans and some spouses and caregivers of Veterans.

The VA Maryland Health Care System still has a limited amount of the COVID-19 vaccine. We are working to determine how quickly we can obtain additional supplies so we can begin to offer the vaccine to the other groups, but we are not ready to begin these vaccinations at this time.  

Veterans and their spouses/caregivers are encouraged to “Sign Up and Stay Informed” to receive regular updates about the COVID-19 vaccine at VA by visiting: www.va.gov/health-care/covid-19-vaccine/stay-informed.  

Note: Your employer, pharmacy, or local public health officials may offer you a COVID-19 vaccine. We encourage you to take the first opportunity you have to get a vaccine at the most convenient location for you. 

To receive real-time information about the distribution of the vaccine by the VA Maryland Health Care System, we encourage Veterans and their spouses/caregivers to visit www.maryland.va.gov and go to “Connect with VA Maryland Health Care System” on the homepage to sign-up to receive Email Updates, follow us on Twitter and “Like” us on Facebook. This is the fastest and most reliable way to receive the latest information about the COVID-19 vaccine directly from the VA Maryland Health Care System.

If you are a Veteran and you are not enrolled for VA health care, find out if you're eligible for VA health care and how to apply. 

All VA Maryland Health Care System sites are open for limited face-to-face scheduled clinic appointments.

To protect our patients and staff from the spread of COVID-19, the following are new guidelines for limited visitation to acute care areas at the Baltimore VA Medical Center. Please note that the COVID-19 visitor restrictions remain in place for all Community Living Center (CLC) units, and family members should speak with their assigned Social Worker for the appropriate guidance.

All visitors will be screened using COVID-related questions and will be required to sign-in at the Information Desk and provide the name of the Veteran inpatient they will be visiting. Additionally, all visitors will be required to wear a mask at all times while in a VA facility. Visitors who do not pass the COVID-19 screening process will not be allowed to enter the facility.

Visitor Guidance for Acute Care Units Only:

• One visitor per day
• Visitation must occur between 1 p.m. and 7 p.m.
• Visitors must restrict their movement to and from the patient’s room
• This visitation guidance is contingent upon the community positivity rate remaining less than 10 percent in Maryland. If the community positivity rate surges above 10 percent, this guidance will be subject to revision and a return to restricted access.

Additional Visitor Guidance for Acute Care Units:

• Up to two visitors for end-of-life care and decision making;
• One escort for patients being discharged from inpatient care;
• One escort for medically compromised outpatients with a scheduled, onsite clinic appointment;
• One visitor who has been asked by the inpatient care team to attend and be part of the treatment and discharge planning process.

For updated information on COVID-19, please visit https://www.maryland.va.gov/COVID19.asp