●     As of April 27, nearly 7,000 of America’s veterans have tested positive for COVID-19 at Veterans Affairs facilities and 435 have died from the disease.¹ The death rate at VA facilities is higher than the national average – suggesting we are potentially missing diagnosing a meaningful number of cases in veterans.²  Critics say the department is not doing enough to protect both veterans and workers and is being vague about supply shortages, death rates and other challenges in confronting the crisis.

●    Additionally, more than 2,000 VA health care workers have been infected by the coronavirus, with 20 deaths.³ The VA refused to provide COVID-19 tests to VA employees who weren’t veterans. Roughly 123,000 of the 390,000 workers at the VA are veterans, meaning that the majority of the department’s workforce is made up of civilian employees who are not be eligible to be tested for COVID-19 at the hospitals and clinics where they work. Although the VA does not test non-veteran staff for the coronavirus, all VA employees are being screened for symptoms.⁴

●      Some healthcare groups have been urging the VA to open up its military and veterans’ hospitals beyond to just veterans. They argue that “given that both the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs have postponed or canceled all non-emergency elective procedures and many clinical operations, …they currently have significant capacity in these facilities.”⁵

●   Cuts to the United States Postal Service could impact veterans’ ability to get their medications. Thousands of veterans receive their needed medications from the VA monthly via the US Postal Service, which has never failed to deliver.  President Trump’s targeting of the USPS budget for substantial cuts could threaten that stability for ex-servicemen and women.⁶

●      Some veterans have had disproportionate lung damage from “burn pits” and are more susceptible to the negative effects of COVID-19. Veterans of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars may be more vulnerable to coronavirus, given that deployed service members were frequently exposed on their bases to rancid fumes, posing a long-term health risk to their health. Exposed service members were likely to experience “reduced lung function or exacerbated chronic bronchitis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, atherosclerosis, or other cardiopulmonary diseases,” all of which the sort of respiratory damage that might turn a case of coronavirus severe or deadly.              . ⁷

●     Veterans’ remote mental health appointments have skyrocketed amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Remote mental health care use among VA patients has jumped dramatically as normal medical care appointments were disrupted and veterans forced into self-isolation because of the ongoing pandemic. Most significant were mental health care check-ins and consultations conducted over the phone. In February, there were about 40,000 such appointments, but in March, they topped 154,000, a nearly four-fold increase.⁸

●     The Bob Woodruff Foundation released a study finding that pandemic-related recession and isolation could hit veterans harder than the broader population.⁹ From the paper:

o     Approximately 14% of employed veterans work in the five industries most likely to experience immediate layoffs due to the economic impact of COVID-19.

o   Veterans with pre-existing mental health conditions are at increased risk for their symptoms worsening and developing new problems like substance misuse

●      Fortunately, the CARES Act includes $20 billion in Coronavirus relief for veterans.¹⁰  Where that funding is going:

o   $15.85 billion to the Veterans Health Administration, to cover treatment for veterans with COVID-19 at VA hospitals, civilian urgent care clinics and emergency rooms. The funds are to be used for overtime for staff, personal protective equipment, test kits and other resources.

o   $3.1 billion to building infrastructure for veterans care, including equipping and staffing for temporary hospitals, clinics and mobile treatment centers, and remodeling existing facilities, including state-run veterans homes, to isolate and care for veterans with the highly contagious illness.

o   The remaining funds are going to VA information technology networks to ensure they can handle the increase of tele-medicine services, and so veterans can remotely get the care they need through tele-health during the crisis.

●      Roughly 25,000 veterans have also volunteered to return to the army in response to COVID. This was in response to the Army’s call for volunteers to assist with the COVID-19 response after the service sent emails to 800,000 former soldiers gauging their interest in returning to duty. The Army is still looking for more personnel, and although the preference is for those who are currently licensed in medical fields, other former soldiers can also volunteer.¹¹