WALLA WALLA, Wash. — The vaccination phone calls will be coming.

That’s the most important thing for veterans served by the Jonathan M. Wainwright VA Medical Center to know, spokeswoman Linda Wondra said this week.

Like every medical provider around the globe, the U. S. Department of Veterans Affairs has been planning for the moment a vaccine became available to fight against the coronavirus.

That happened Friday, Dec. 11, and on Monday, Dec. 14, the VA administered its first doses of the Pfizer formula to front line health workers and veterans in New Orleans and Bedford, Mass.

The first shot given in this country to a VA patient went into the arm of a 96-year-old World War II veteran, Wondra said.

“I think that’s really neat,” she said.

NBC television in Boston reported Margaret Klessens, a resident of a VA nursing home in Bedford, received the shot at 12:07 p.m. Dec. 14.

Klessens, who served in the women’s Army auxiliary corp in communications during the war, reported being happily surprised at how fast the vaccine had arrived, NBC said.

Thirty-five other VA facilities across the U.S. are also receiving the vaccine this week.

The Walla Walla VA is anticipating getting its first shipment soon, Wondra said, but no exact date can yet be pinpointed.

The minute it can be, the notification calls will be going out to enrolled veterans in the order of priority-need levels, and vaccinations can begin, she said.

Chris Bjornberg, director of the Walla Walla VA, said the center’s focus is ensuring all veterans getting care there and all employees get fully immunized.

Those health care workers will be among the first to receive vaccinations, due to their high risk of contracting and spreading COVID-19 to other staff members and patients, Bjornberg said, noting the health of staff is critical to continuity of care for patients.

As vaccine supplies increase, locally enrolled veterans will receive vaccinations based on factors, such as age, existing health problems and other conditions that increase the risk of severe illness or death from COVID-19, he said.

As veterans wait for the phone call to schedule vaccination appointments, they can sign up to get updated information through the VA’s Keep Me Informed tool, visit the VA Coronavirus Vaccine FAQs webpage, contact their care team or visit the Walla Walla facility website, Wondra said.