St. Cloud VA Health Care System

The St. Cloud VA Health Care System is adding drive thru flu clinics at all clinic locations for this year's flu season.

During this flu season, flu shots for Veterans served by the St. Cloud VA Health Care System are available as part of any scheduled VA appointment, at multiple, convenient drive thru flu shot clinics, and through the VA Community Care Network. 

The 2020-2021 flu season will coincide with the COVID-19 pandemic. Flu shots provide the best protection against influenza and help reduce illness and hospitalization. An annual flu shot is an important part of staying healthy and is more important than ever during this combined flu season and COVID-19 pandemic.

Flu shots for Veterans with a VA appointment

Veterans attending a scheduled appointment at the St. Cloud VA or our VA Community Clinics can get a flu shot as part of their pre-scheduled appointment. In support of COVID-19 safety precautions, flu shot only appointments cannot be scheduled.

Flu shots for Veterans without a VA appointment

For Veterans without an appointment, we are offering drive-up flu clinics for enrolled Veterans only. No appointment is necessary to get vaccinated at the drive thru clinics.

Veterans using the drive thru clinics will undergo screening for vaccine allergies and COVID-19 symptoms. Veterans are encouraged to prescreen for COVID-19 by using VA’s COVID-19 screening tool, available https://www.va.gov/covid19screen/. To ensure everyone’s safety, vaccinations for Veterans with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 will be deferred at the drive thru clinics and Veterans will be directed to other treatment locations.

Safety and weather related postponements or suspensions of drive thru clinic locations will be announced at https://www.stcloud.va.gov and https://www.facebook.com/stcloudvahcs.
 
To facilitate efficient operations of the drive thru flu clinics, participating Veterans are asked to wear a mask, to have their Veterans Health Identification Card (VHIC) ready, to wear a short sleeve shirt, to follow signage, and stay in their vehicle.

In September and October, drive thru clinics are available at several different locations:

St. Cloud VA Medical Center, 4801 Veterans Drive, St. Cloud 
Oct. 17 & 24, 9 a.m. – 3 p.m., in Bldg. 116 Parking Lot (Rehabilitation Center)

St. Cloud Municipal Athletic Complex (MAC) Parking Lot, 5001 Veterans Drive, St. Cloud (next door/west of the VA Medical Center) 
-Sep. 28 & 29, 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. & Oct. 13, 14 & 15, 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.
-Please enter via the MAC parking lot west entrance along 54th Ave. North/CR 134, by the City of St. Cloud water tower.

Douglas County Fairgrounds, 800 3rd Ave. W., Alexandria
Sep. 25, 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. & Oct. 9, 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.

Brainerd VA Clinic Parking Lot, 722 NW Seventh St., Brainerd 
Sep. 30, 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. & Oct. 1, 27 & 28, 11 a.m. – 3 p.m.

Montevideo VA Clinic Parking Lot, 1025 North 13th St., Montevideo
Sep. 23, 10 a.m.  – 4 p.m. & Oct. 2, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

VA is offering the quadrivalent high dose vaccine designated for persons 65 and older and a quadrivalent standard dose vaccine. 

The quadrivalent vaccine contains antigens from 4 strains of influenza virus.  The Center for Disease Control (CDC) does not recommend any influenza vaccine over another as “preferred.”

Flu Shots Available through the VA Community Care Network

Eligible Veterans can now receive their seasonal flu shots at no cost at more than 60,000 VA Community Care Network (CCN) retail pharmacies and urgent care locations. This replaces the Walgreens Retail Immunization Care Coordination Program, which ended in March 2020.

Veterans can use the VA Locator to find a VA facility, in-network retail pharmacy or urgent care location near them by using this link: https://www.va.gov/find-locations.  Alternatively, Veterans can call 877-881-7618 to find a location. 

Veterans enrolled in the VA health care system may use in-network retail pharmacies to obtain flu shot. 

Veterans enrolled in the VA health care system and who have received care from a VA or in-network community provider in the past 24 months may also use CCN urgent care clinic locations to obtain a flu shot.  

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.

VA is committed to keeping Veteran patients healthy, and vaccination is the best way to prevent the spread of flu.