JBLM begins vaccinating its health care workers against COVID-19
Health care workers and emergency personnel became the first people to get a COVID-19 vaccine at Joint Base Lewis-McChord on Wednesday.
Staff Sgt. Travis Snyder and LaRae Munns, a civilian emergency room nurse at Madigan Army Medical Center, were the first people at JBLM to be inoculated. Munns said when the hospital asked who would take the vaccine, she was eager to volunteer.
“I was a little nervous because it’s new, but it’s important that we, as health care workers, stay healthy for our patients and our family,” Munns said.
The first shipment of the Pfizer-BioNTech arrived at Madigan on Tuesday, Dec. 15, where it’s being stored in ultra-cold freezers. Lt. Col. Luke Mease, Madigan’s chief of preventative medicine, said the hospital went through multiple drills to ensure it was ready for the vaccine’s arrival.
“This is a really exciting day for Madigan and for those of us who work in public health,” Mease said. “The people getting the vaccine today are primarily front-line workers who are at risk of exposure to COVID-19 because of their work, but we’ll also provide the vaccine to some service members who are deploying.”
Munns said she doesn’t expect things to suddenly change for her — she’ll still be masking up, social distancing and constantly washing her hands. But she said the vaccine has put her mind at ease when it comes to protecting her family.
Munns will get a second round of the Pfizer vaccine in 21 days.
Madigan public affairs official Jay Ebbeson said the base expects to inoculate around 100 people, primarily health care workers, on the first day of offering the vaccine, but the Department of Defense is not releasing information on how much of the vaccine each military installation will get.
This story was originally published December 16, 2020 at 3:12 PM.
