70% of St. Cloud Area Veterans are Vaccinated [PODCAST]

This month on WJON's Voices for Veterans segment I was joined by Barry Venable, Public Affairs Officer from the St. Cloud V.A. and Josh Goudge, Veteran Services Supervisor from the St. Cloud V.A. Barry says 70% of veterans enrolled at the St. Cloud V.A. have been vaccinated for Covid-19 including more than 90% of those 85 years of age and older. He says he'd like to see veterans 50 and younger get the vaccine in larger numbers than what they are currently seeing. Venable says "if we're going to beat the pandemic we need everyone to join in, get vaccinated". He says if a person were to get a mild case of Covid-19 it is important to not pass it to others. Venable says the St. Cloud V.A. is still offering the vaccine for veterans. Call to make an appointment at 252-1670 extension 6339.

Many people including veterans have been impacted financially by the pandemic. Josh Goudge from the St. Cloud V.A. talked about enrollment opportunities available to veterans who qualify. He says there are three main ways to qualify for assistance. The first is service connection. Goudge encourages veterans to make contact with county veteran service officer and discuss any service connected injuries that occurred while on active duty. The second is special eligibilities. This depends on the time, location of service and medal earned while in service. The third is income which is determined by the federal government. There is a blanket national income threshold and one based on the zip code the veteran resides within. It is a gross household income. For questions and concerns please contact the St. Cloud V.A. at 255-6340.

Voices for Veterans airs the 3rd Wednesday of each month on WJON at 8:15 a.m.