Firefighters and paramedics were cleared and bottles and needles rolled Monday as a downtown Los Angeles fire station turned into a vaccination site for city firefighters to receive their first doses of Modern COVID-19 vaccine.
Employees of the Los Angeles Fire Department – the city’s first vaccine – added the first response in Southern California to get the vaccine.
“These are the people who are always there for us,” Mayor Eric Garcetti said. “Not only during COVID, but also when a catastrophe strikes – whether it’s a fire or a medical emergency – we know that these men and women are the people who are literally angels in our city of angels. . “
The shipment of the Moderna vaccine arrived for the LA fire department last week, agency spokesman Peter Sanders said. About 150 paramedics were trained Monday morning on how to administer the vaccines, while earning shots in the arm in the process. That afternoon, they began giving the vaccine to their colleagues while Garcetti, Fire Chief Ralph Terrazas and other officials watched.
“We do see the vaccine as a light at the end of a very long tunnel,” Terrazas said. He noted that since the beginning of the pandemic, the fire brigade has seen 650 positive cases among its members. About a dozen were admitted to the hospital and one firefighter-paramedic, Jose Perez, died in July from COVID-19 complications. Even now, 157 remain in quarantine or seclusion, Sanders said.
LA Mayor Eric Garcetti is holding a vial of the Modern COVID-19 vaccine at LAFD Station 4 on Monday.
(Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)
The Moderna vaccine has been shown to be 94.5% effective in preventing cases of COVID-19. The news of the arrival of first responders came when LA County showed an increasingly serious picture of the pandemic: 7,181 coronavirus-positive patients in the hospital, with 1,449 in intensive care, according to the latest state data. Many hospitals are already overrun by patients, and the numbers are expected to worsen when infections from Christmas gatherings begin to appear.
“It may not feel like a rainy day like this, but it’s a ray of sunshine,” Garcetti said as rain poured outside the fire station’s car.
Behind the mayor, the vaccination process grumbled together. One person registered the firefighters’ names while another pulled the vaccine out of a vial and another inserted it into the firefighter’s arm. In the coming weeks, firefighters will receive emails and text updates to remind them to get the second dose.
The garage has already worked as a COVID-19 test site for city employees once a week, Sanders said. It will now serve as a vaccine for approximately 3,400 firefighters, as well as two other stations in Watts and North Hollywood.
The department expects to vaccinate every employee who wants to receive it over the next two weeks. In a recent informal survey, nearly 90% of respondents said they wanted the vaccine, Sanders said.
Firefighter paramedic Mark Flynn said he was ’50 -50 ‘a few weeks ago about whether he would get the vaccine, but after examining it and talking to relatives of the medical doctor who received the vaccine , he decided to line up.
“The benefits outweigh the risks for me,” Flynn said. “I think the biggest thing is to educate yourself. Do personal investigation about it. ”
After receiving the vaccination, he said he was “happy about it”. Now he plans to share his experience with family and friends.
“I’m, so to speak, the guinea pig for them,” he said. “Maybe I can encourage them to get it too.”
Anthony Kong, a firefighter paramedic in the Los Angeles Fire Department, is preparing a Modern COVID-19 vaccination to be given to LAFD staff at Station 4 on Monday.
(Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)
Terrazas said he plans to receive his first shot Wednesday with the presidents of the firefighter and major unions. They will take their experience on video and send it to all employees to encourage them to get the vaccination as well, he said.
“I did not want to cut out in front of anyone. It’s a long tradition in our fire department – as for meals, the officers go last, ‘said Terrazas. “But I also want to encourage people, and the best way to encourage them is to get the chance.”
Similar scenes have taken place in recent days at fire stations across Southern California. The Los Angeles County Fire Department began vaccinating on Christmas Eve, Capt. Ron Haralson said. As of Sunday, 1,793 of the department’s approximately 4,000 members had received the vaccine, he said. The department expects to offer it to anyone who wants it within the next few days, Haralson said.
Employees of the Orange County Fire Authority began receiving the Moderna vaccine over the weekend, as well as emergency medical technicians, firefighters and paramedics in Corona.