COVID Vaccine Issues Related to Veterans’ Benefits

Tampa, FL (Law Firm Newswire) October 14, 2021 – In exchange for the service to their county, the federal government provides significant benefits to veterans. A recent estimate put the number of veterans who receive benefits at over 9 million. While these benefits have always been crucial, the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic made them even more so.

However, the dangers of COVID-19 and the development of the COVID019 vaccine have recently raised questions among the veteran community. For example, a recent news outlet reported that President Biden was withholding benefits from unvaccinated veterans, a totally false claim. As it turns out, this inaccurate claim was initially published in a satirical newspaper. However, as people took to social media to share the article, it became viral. Unfortunately, not everyone knew that the news was written in jest, and many were concerned about their VA benefits.

Of course, the COVID-19 vaccination has been proven to be safe and also significantly decrease the likelihood of contracting the virus. However, there are legitimate religious and medical reasons why someone may choose not to receive the vaccine. This recently came up in another news report discussing the Veteran Affairs position in mandating COVID-19 vaccines for certain VA staff.

Back in July, before there was any talk of a federal vaccine mandate, the VA passed its own vaccine mandate, requiring certain workers in the Veterans Health Administration to get vaccinated. The idea is that veterans are, as a whole, a fairly vulnerable population, and the VA wanted to ensure that veterans felt safe visiting VA facilities to receive the care they needed. More than 380,000 VA workers are subject to the vaccine mandate.

Since the VA put the vaccine mandate in place, 82 percent of those subject to it have provided an attestation of their vaccine status. Of those, 88 percent, or 274,208 employees, are fully or partially vaccinated. VHA employees have until Oct. 8 to either get fully vaccinated or request a medical or religious accommodation. Those VHA employees who do not comply with the mandate are subject to a progressive disciplinary process.

Florida veterans’ benefits attorney David W. Magann explains,

“Regardless of how anyone personally feels about the COVID-19 vaccine, the VA’s efforts to ensure safe facilities for veterans are commendable. Many veterans are older or suffer from unrelated health conditions that put them at serious risk of developing COVID-19. I am happy to see that VA staff members have stepped up to protect veterans as they provide them with critical healthcare benefits.”

Attorney David Magann is a Florida Veterans’ benefits lawyer with extensive experience helping veterans, service members, and their family members obtain the benefits they are entitled to. Attorney Magann also helps veterans deal with the unique legal issues they face after leaving the service. As a proud Marine Corps veteran, attorney Magann has overcome many of those issues himself and takes pride in helping fellow veterans. Attorney Magann handles social security disability, estate planning, veterans’ law and personal injury law out of his Brandon and Tampa offices. He can be reached at http://www.tampaveteranslawyer.com/.

Learn more at http://www.tampaveteranslawyer.com/ David W. Magann, P.A. Main Office: 156 West Robertson Street Brandon, FL 33511 Call: (813) 657-9175 Tampa Office: 18715 N Dale Mabry Hwy Lutz, FL 33548