TR Photo by TREVOR BABCOCK Marshalltown resident and 2006 Iraq War veteran Jeff Heiden said he wants all veterans to take advantage of the Veterans Administration clinics offering vaccinations to them, their spouses and caregivers.

The Marshalltown Veteran Administration Clinic has been vaccinating all veterans, their spouses and caregivers, but low demand and the pause on Johnson & Johnson vaccines has halted plans for vaccinations in the foreseeable future.

While demand for the vaccine was high when the Marshalltown VA clinic began administering doses in February, the clinic now has a hard time getting more than 50 appointments scheduled for a first dose, said director of the Marshalltown VA clinic Maureen Nichols.

“In the last two weeks we’ve just struggled to find anyone that wants to come in,” Nichols said.

Before Tuesday, she had hoped to announce a clinic for the Johnson & Johnson vaccine until United States health regulators recommended a pause on that brand of vaccinations to investigate reports of blood clots.

To fight low demand, the clinic tried holding clinics on Saturdays and extending operating hours into the evening to catch people after work. Nichols said she has been picking up homebound veterans and bringing them to the clinic for vaccinations. Many of those with scheduled vaccination appointments wound up cancelling once they were able to receive the vaccine from their employer or from other local health care providers. Others cancelled appointments due to their preference for the Johnson & Johnson vaccination, which is now unavailable.

Nichols said if demand for the vaccination had been higher, the Marshalltown VA clinic would have been able to receive more doses and vaccinate more people.

“It’s kind of like a numbers game,” she said. “We are big about not wasting, and we don’t want to ask for some and not have people to use it.”

Nichols said the Marshalltown VA clinic will assess the demand after the last planned clinic for the second dose of the Moderna vaccine happens on May 4.

On Tuesday the Marshalltown VA clinic had one of their last planned vaccination clinics for the second dose of the Moderna vaccine, where Marshalltown resident and 2006 Iraq war veteran Jeff Heiden received his second shot. He has made it a goal to build confidence in the vaccine for veterans, believing it’s unfortunate getting the vaccine has been politicized.

“It was such a relief knowing that the VA was going to be taking care of me so that I could get my shot,” Heiden said. “I encourage all of my fellow veterans in Marshalltown to please use the VA to get their shots as soon as possible, as well as their spouses because they’ve never been included in VA health care.”

The vaccination effort was made possible through legislation passed by Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden. The SAVE LIVES act expanded vaccine eligibility to all veterans, whether or not they are enrolled in the VA health care system, along with their spouses and caregivers.

About 18 million military veterans reside in the United States, but only 9 million of those veterans are enrolled in the VA’s health care system. Prior to the SAVE LIVES act, clinics such as the Marshalltown VA clinic were only able to vaccinate veterans enrolled in the VA health care system.

Those looking for a vaccine and are eligible to receive one through the VA clinic can still call the Marshalltown VA clinic at 641-754-6701 to be opted in and put on a call list in case they hold another vaccination clinic. The clinic can also help schedule vaccination appointments at other VA locations.

Nichols recommended the Des Moines VA clinic which is taking vaccination appointments, or a walk-in or by appointment vaccination clinic at the Knoxville VA clinic this Saturday.

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Contact Trevor Babcock at 641-753-6611 or tbabcock@timesrepublican.com.