Weekend VA COVID-19 vaccine clinic in Pahrump full

The Pahrump VA Clinic scheduled for this weekend has no more available appointments.

The clinic, hosted by the Veterans Health Administration, Southern Nevada Healthcare System, had 248 people sign up for vaccinations, said John Archiquette, public affairs specialist with VASNHS.

The clinic is set to occur on Saturday at the Pahrump VA Clinic. The Sunday clinic was canceled.

For more information about future vaccination clinics in Pahrump for veterans that are 65 years of age or older, call 775-727-7535 to schedule an appointment. Veterans will be scheduled for their second dose exactly three weeks from the date that they receive their first dose.

First vaccine doses

VA Southern Nevada Healthcare System delivered the first doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to more than 400 veterans at the Pahrump VA Clinic over the weekend of Feb. 6-7.

This was the first time VASNHS had administered the vaccine outside of the North Las Vegas VA Medical Center.

Staff from the VAMC joined Pahrump VA nurses and the Nye County Fire Department to deliver the first round of vaccinations to veterans ages 70 and older during the two-day clinic. The clinic was held on the weekend so it wouldn’t interrupt vaccine distribution operations occurring throughout the week at the VAMC.

“We were excited about the vaccine when we first heard that it was being administered at the medical center, but there was always an underlying concern that we were so far away from being able to access the vaccine,” said Bill Carl, physician assistant at the Pahrump VA clinic. “Many of our veterans here in Pahrump are older and find it difficult to travel so far, so when it was announced that the VA would be bringing the vaccine to our facility, the veterans were just thrilled.”

Vietnam-era veteran Frank Duszynski Jr. was the first in line to receive his vaccine at 8 a.m. Saturday. “I feel like I’ve been ducking and dodging COVID all year,” said the 72-year-old former Army military policeman. “When the VA called me to offer me the vaccine, I jumped at the chance. I feel like the VA is taking care of me and is conscious of our health.”

Since giving the first dose of the vaccine on Dec. 16, VASNHS has delivered more than 14,500 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.