‘The sense of relief is major’
Kerry paramedics are the first ambulance division in South region to get vaccinated
THEY are the first ambulance division of the Southern region vaccinated against Covid-19 and the sense of relief is massive.
76 members of the ambulance service of Kerry – comprising the entirety of the service here bar those currently out on leave – received the initial dose of the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine alongside hundreds of staff members of University Hospital Kerry last week in an extraordinary acceleration of the rollout here that saw them accessing the shots ahead of even their colleagues in the Cork ambulance division.
It could not have come soon enough for the paramedics, charged as they are with responding to increasing numbers of Covid callouts at the coalface in the community; on top of emergencies of ordinary experience.
Operations Manager of the National Ambulance Service in Kerry paid tribute to the bravery and dedication of the staff, who, to date and in another extraordinary distinction for the division, have not recorded a single confirmed case of the virus.
“We’re blessed in Kerry to date that we have not had one Covid positive case in the service. They were very lucky but it’s because they were provided with the PPE and because they abided by the PPE guidelines, quickly excelling in protecting themselves while dealing with so many cases on the coalface of the battle against Covid,” Mr O’Callaghan told The Kerryman.
The same goes for those ambulance personnel who were tasked with testing for Covid in the community (at a rate of about 20 tests per day at present). “It’s all down to the vigilance of stafff. At the end of the day they have families they have to protect and they are being very vigilant.”
He paid tribute to CEO of the HSE Southern Region Gerry O’Dwyer for delivering the vaccine for all ambulance personnel in Kerry alongside the general roll-out of hundreds of doses among staff at UHK since the first delivery of 1,000 was received last Tuesday week (a second delivery came on Friday).
It has come as major relief for all in the service and on the frontlines in general: “It was a major relief. Staff that have said to me also they now feel valued in the national side of things. Up to this they felt the battle was going on, but now they feel there is light at the end of the tunnel as now they feel at least partially protected at least.” Mr O’Callaghan said he was confident the staff will receive the second necessary dose now within 21 days of the first one, as is optimal.
Meanwhile, the virus continues racing through the community with alarming speed. “The numbers are increasing dramatically... I hope that it won’t get to the point where it will affect the delivery of our service if the calls exceed our capabilities and lead to delays.”