VIERA, Fla. —  Veterans in Brevard County lined up Saturday to get their COVID-19 vaccinations at a drive-thru vaccination event at the VA Health Care Center in Viera.

Cars started getting in line as early as 6 a.m. as people waited, hoping for a chance to get one of the COVID-19 vaccines at the VA on Saturday.

What You Need To Know

  • VA Health Care Center in Viera was the site of COVID vaccinations Saturday 

  • The event was open to veterans over 65 and to those over 18 in frontline fields

  • Cars lined up early to get the shots at the drive-thru event

The vaccination drive-in event in Viera is one way the VA is working to reach as many veterans as they can around Central Florida. So far, they’ve given out around 35,000 doses of vaccine overall, according to Heather Frebe, a spokesperson for the Orlando VA Healthcare System. That makes them the top VA system in the nation for vaccines given, according to Frebe. 

Many of the people in line waiting for shots said they had been trying for a while to get one.

“I’ve been on the list for a while and I’ve been trying, and they just scheduled me for this morning,” Jim Buffington of Palm Bay said.

Leaders with the Orlando VA health-care system said they’ve been hosting events in Viera as well as in Daytona Beach and Lake Baldwin so vets don’t have to come to Orlando to be protected against COVID-19. They're also taking steps to reach those who don’t have easy access to technology.

 “We’ve been doing them a lot by appointment so veterans in those areas can go closer to where they are versus coming all the way into Orlando. So that’s helped with a lot of those groups of veterans, to be able to get them closer to home,” Frebe said. 

After waiting since December to see if they could get this shot in the arm,  the men and women coming through said they’re grateful to see veterans now getting their turn.

“It’s time we do that, thank God for all our veterans,” Vietnam War-era veteran Donald Cunningham said.

The vaccination drive-in event in Brevard County was open to veterans 65 and older as well as veterans over 18-years-old who have been working on the frontlines of the pandemic.  Veterans older than 18 who work on the frontlines were asked to bring ID and documentation that they are employed in one of these fields to receive the vaccine. 

Appointments were not required at the vaccination site Saturday.