Retire to the Philippines and Succeed

From: <ACSManilaMascot@state.gov>
Date: 10 May 2021 at 2:56:15 PM GMT+8
Subject: Health Alert: Hotel-Based Quarantine Period Extended to Ten Days for Arriving Passengers
Reply-To: <ACSManilaMascot@state.gov>

United States Embassy Manila, Philippines
United States Consular Agency Cebu, Philippines 
May 10, 2021

Health Alert: Hotel-Based Quarantine Period Extended for Arriving Passengers

Effective until further notice, arriving passengers must spend the first 10 days of the mandatory 14-day quarantine period in a certified quarantine hotel. You must have a confirmed booking at one of these hotels in advance of your arrival in the Philippines.

Actions to Take:

For more information, see Inter-Agency Task Force Resolution No. 111 on the Philippine Official Gazette website.

Monitor the Philippine Department of Health website and the Embassy’s COVID-19 webpage for updated information about conditions in the Philippines.

Assistance:

U.S. Embassy in the Philippines: +63(2) 5301-2000 or ACSInfoManila@state.gov
State Department – Consular Affairs
888-407-4747 or 202-501-4444
Philippines Country Information
Enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) to receive security updates
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I haven’t been on for a while because I haven’t had a lot to talk about, Still trucking along, staying home as much as possible and I have been waiting for this announcement.

Good news, especially for veterans like me who have no disability and are not registered with the Manila VA Clinic.

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VA MANILA OUTPATIENT CLINIC
ANNOUNCEMENTS AND REMINDERS

April 26, 2021

1. COVID-19 VACCINATIONS UPDATES:

VA Manila provided our first Veterans in the Philippines with the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine last week. I am so thankful that VA Manila can offer the vaccine to our Veteran patients and was very moved by the comments and feedback my team and I received from our first cohort of vaccinated Veterans. Starting this week, the OPC will offer more COVID-19 vaccine appointments and will be conducting vaccine clinics on several upcoming Saturdays in May to increase the numbers of Veterans we can vaccinate. These extra hours will help us meet our goal of safely and quickly vaccinating as many Veterans as our initial supplies allow.

Currently, the Clinic is still prioritizing Veterans in group 1b for vaccination. We have had an opportunity to vaccinate some Veterans in group 1c and will continue to reach out to older Veterans in group 1c as our schedules and vaccine supplies allow. VA Manila needs to ensure that all of the Veterans in group 1b, our oldest Veterans who are 75 years of age and older and are at highest risk for COVID-19 complications, have been offered an opportunity to receive a vaccine before we expand to all Veterans in lower priority groups. I appreciate your understanding and patience as we strictly adhere to VA and CDC prioritization recommendations.

I have a few other announcements and updates to VA Manila’s COVID-19 vaccination plan to share this week – which is particularly important for Veterans who want to stay up to date on the latest COVID-19 information from VA Manila.

How to Let VA Manila Know You Want a Vaccine?
Starting today, VA Manila has put two new processes in place for Veterans to use to notify VA that they would like to receive a vaccine. These processes are different depending on your enrollment status with VA. Enrolled Veterans who have used VA Healthcare services in the past can register their intent to be vaccinated online by following the steps below in part A. Non-enrolled Veterans, Spouses, and Caregivers can register by sending an email as outlined below in part B.
A. Enrolled Veterans in VA Healthcare Services: You can register and let VA know you would like to get a vaccine from VA Manila online at VA’s COVID-19 Vaccination Website (https://www.va.gov/health-care/covid-19-vaccine/). On this website, you will click on the “Sign Up Now” and “Sign Up” buttons. It will direct you to a registration form with the first question:

If you are an enrolled Veteran who has accessed VA Healthcare in the past, answer yes. If not, please follow the non-enrolled Veteran sign up process listed further below in this message. For currently enrolled Veterans, on the second page of the form, a question about your US Zip Code will come up.

Please use Zip Code 96517 when completing this form. This will direct your online submission to VA Manila, where we will use it to contact enrolled Veterans when it is your turn to receive your vaccine appointment. Please complete the form as you normally would otherwise, ensuring your email and telephone numbers are accurate. We will use these as the two primary ways VA Manila will reach you when it’s your turn to be vaccinated.
B. Non-Enrolled Veterans, and Spouses / Caregivers: Once VA Manila has had an opportunity to offer a COVID-19 vaccine to all enrolled Veterans at VA Manila, if we have enough vaccine available, we intend to offer vaccines to all US Veterans in the Philippines. It is estimated that as many as 30,000 US Veterans live in the Philippines, so this is a large cohort of Veterans. It is unlikely that VA Manila will be able to start vaccinating individuals in these groups for several months, if not longer. But while you wait, please follow the process below and let VA know you would like to receive a vaccine. We can use this information to help us with planning and to know you’d like a vaccine.
You can let VA Manila know that you’d like a COVID-19 Vaccine if you are a non-Enrolled Veteran, a Spouse or Caregiver of a Veteran, and would like a vaccine. To do this, please send an email to: ManilaCOVIDVaccine@va.gov. Please use the following subject line in your email: “Non-Enrolled Veteran / Spouse / Caregiver Vaccine Intent”
In the body of your email, include the following information:
Name, Date of Birth, Last 4 of Social Security Number
(if a spouse/caregiver of a Veteran): Veteran’s Name, Date of Birth, Last 4 of Social Security Number (if applicable)
Local Address (full street, barangay, city, province, postal code).
Local Phone Number and Email Address
Include a statement that you want to receive a COVID-19 vaccination, and are you willing to travel to VA Manila in Pasay City to receive the vaccine.
When you send a message to this email address, a member of the VA Manila staff will compile your information into a secured database and maintain the information on file. When VA Manila receives enough vaccines to offer a vaccine to all enrolled Veterans, we will begin to contact non-enrolled Veterans and spouses/caregivers in priority order based on age. VA Manila will maintain this information and contact Veterans with additional information about when a COVID-19 vaccine may be available for them from the Outpatient Clinic. After non-enrolled Veterans, if any supplies are remaining, VA Manila will offer remaining vaccines next to spouses and caregivers.
You can also email ManilaCOVIDVaccine@va.gov if you have any questions or need additional information about VA Manila’s vaccination efforts. This email box will be reviewed by several individuals and our goal is to respond to all questions within 3 business days. Veterans who are active patients should use Secure Messenger within MyHealthEVet to communicate with their care team.

Please continue to stay healthy and well.

Your VA Manila Team

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
VA Manila Outpatient Clinic
US Embassy to the Philippines, Seafront Compound
1501 Roxas Boulevard, 1302 Pasay City, Metro Manila
+63 (02) 8550-3888 – Direct Dial
#MyVA (#6982) – Toll Free

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