Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center

COVID-19 Vaccines

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has authorized three COVID-19 vaccines. VA is following Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidance to pause in providing the Janssen vaccine at this time. This pause is due to a concern about possible rare side effects. Your safety is our top priority. For more information, go to the CDC website. Read the CDC and FDA statement on the Janssen COVID-19 vaccine. If you have a vaccine appointment scheduled, your VA health facility will work with you to determine what to do next.

Congress has passed a new law that allows us to offer COVID-19 vaccines to more people. VA is now able to offer vaccine to the following groups who are eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine at VA when their local VA facilities have enough vaccine:

• Veterans
• Spouse of a Veteran
• Caregivers of a Veteran
• Recipients of Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs (CHAMPVA) benefits

The best way to stay informed is to sign up to tell us you'd like to get a COVID-19 vaccine at VA. Your local VA facility will then contact you when they have a vaccine for you.

For your continued health and safety during this pandemic, please don't come to a VA health facility to request a COVID-19 vaccine without an appointment unless you are coming to a specific scheduled event such as a walk-in clinic or drive-through clinic that does not require an appointment.

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.

Lovell Federal Health Care Center is continuing to schedule COVID-19 vaccine appointments for all enrolled VA and TRICARE patients 18 and up who receive care at the FHCC, regardless of health conditions or employment categories.

UPDATE April 13: Lovell FHCC is vaccinating veterans, their spouses and caregivers now eligible under the SAVE LIVES Act. 

Veterans Eligible

Anyone who served in the U.S. military is eligible to be vaccinated through VA/Lovell FHCC. Time-served doesn't matter, nor does discharge status. National Guard members and Reservists are eligible!

Eligible Spouses
For COVID-19 vaccine eligibility, we define a spouse to include marriage, same-sex and common-law marriages. This includes a widow or widower of a Veteran. If you characterize your relationship as spousal, you can receive the vaccine.

Eligible Caregivers
For COVID-19 vaccine eligibility, we define a caregiver as a family member or friend who provides care to the veteran. Caregivers may help the veteran with personal needs like feeding, bathing, or dressing. They may also help the veteran with tasks like shopping or transportation.

The expanded authority depends on readily available COVID-19 vaccine supply and requires VA to prioritize vaccinations as follows:
(1) Veterans who are enrolled in the VA health care system
(2) Veterans who fail to enroll but receive hospital care and medical services for specified disabilities in their first 12 months of separation from service, and
(3) Caregivers accompanying such prioritized veterans.

As an integrated health care center that cares for both VA and DoD patients, Lovell FHCC continues to schedule vaccinations for TRICARE beneficiaries. This includes spouses and children of active duty service members, who must be enrolled Lovell FHCC patients to schedule vaccinations.

Newly eligible SLA veterans, their spouses and caregivers must register at Lovell FHCC before they can receive a vaccination through Lovell FHCC. These are the registration options: 

• Link to the VA's Keep Me informed tool online at www.va.gov/health-care/covid-19-vaccine/ to indicate interest in receiving a vaccine from VA/Lovell FHCC. The KMI Tool auto-generates a confirmation email with the date and time of its receipt. Please wait at least one business day from the date and time listed in the confirmation email. At that point, you will be contacted by the FHCC via a text or phone call, to schedule your vaccination appointment. Or you also may opt to call our Scheduling line, from 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m., M-F, at 224-610-3899.

NEW: Those eligible under SLA also have the option of registering by phone, by calling 224-610-3747. Then you may ask to be transferred to the Scheduling line, or call 224-610-3899, to schedule vaccination appointments.

• Present in person, during business hours, to Patient Registration. For specific questions regarding eligibility, please call 224-610-3747.

• For weekday registration, new patients should report to Patient Registration, located on the first floor of Building 133CA, at our main North Chicago hospital.

• Weekend registration is conducted in the Emergency Department.

Enrolled patients (including those registered under SLA) may continue to call 224-610-3899 to schedule weekday and weekend appointments at Lovell FHCC. The vaccine Scheduling line hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays. If you have questions regarding the COVID-19 vaccine before your appointment, or after your vaccination, please call our COVID-19 Vaccination Hotline at 224-610-4636. The hotline is manned from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays. Hotline operators cannot schedule appointments.

NOTE: until April 17 (see below)  all COVID-19 vaccine appointments are in Bldg. 133EF, in the Family Practice clinic on the first floor (down from pharmacy). Parking is available in the parking garage.

• NEW: Beginning April 17, the FHCC will be open a recurring weekend COVID-19 vaccination clinic, by appointment only, at Cristo Rey St. Martin College Prep High School, 3106 Belvidere Road, Waukegan. No walk-ins please. 
• Make sure to clarify when you make your appointment whether it will be at the high school or at Lovelll FHCC in North Chicago. 

Watch Lovell FHCC social media pages (https://www.facebook.com/lovellfhcc, https://twitter.com/lovellfhcc) and our website for updates. You also may refer to the VA's COVID vaccine FAQ site at https://www.va.gov/coronavirus-veteran-frequently-asked-questions/ and the DoD site: https://www.defense.gov/explore/spotlight/coronavirus/.