Santa Cruz County firefighters receive Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine dose one
That included 77 firefighters and emergency service workers from among 13 agencies
SANTA CRUZ >> Tue sd ay marked the first round of COVID-19 vaccinations administered to Santa Cruz County emergency medical responders at Watsonville Community Hospital. That included 77 firefighters and emergency service workers from among 13 agencies serving Santa Cruz County, authorities said.
Those inaugural first responders received the Moderna vaccine, which in clinical trials has been shown to be 94.1% effective in preventing COVID-19 infections. It is administered in two doses, given roughly a month apart.
“I would equate it to getting a flu shot,” CZU Cal Fire Chief Ian Larkin said. “I had no side effects from it, just a little bit of soreness at the injection point.”
The vaccination process for first responders across the county is volunteer-based and has been organized by Santa Cruz County Emergency Medical Services and coordinated by Central Fire Protection District Battalion Chief Chad Akin. On Tuesday, Akin said Watsonville Community Hospital had “really came through for us” by offering to administer the vaccines to emergency responders and that the local fire agencies were able to quickly “rally the troops” to sign up for appointments, once they were alerted.
Mike DeMars, fire marshal for Central and Aptos/ La Selva fire protection districts, said “it’s highly recommended to our personnel” to get the vaccine.
Looking through Tuesday’s calendar, DeMars saw a “mixed bag” of signups, with representatives from Aptos/ La Selva, Cal Fire and Watsonville fire among represented agencies.
“Some of the doctors and the scientists could obviously give you a much better reason, but I have a family, so being able to put an effort forward to protect my family and our patients and the people around us is worth it,” Akin said of the importance of getting vaccinated.
As of Sunday, local health departments reported 67,573 confirmed positive cases in health care workers across the state and 251 deaths.
According to Watsonville Community Hospital spokeswoman and administrative assistant Lisa Nell, 108 first responders had signed up for vaccination appointment s Wednesday and appointments are filling for next week, as well.
“When we got the opportunity to receive this vaccine and so much of it, we said that while we wanted to be able to vaccinate our front- line staff first and foremost, we definitely have a sufficient amount of vaccines and the capacity to vaccinate more people than just our front-line staff,” Nell said.
Chief Larkin said he’s hopeful that the roughly 125 Cal Fire personnel that are part of the Santa Cruz CZU Unit will sign up. Based on information from several local law enforcement agency spokespersons, a similar vaccination distribution plan for city police and county sheriff’s deputies had not yet been released as of Tuesday.
“So far, the response that we’re getting is the majority are willing to take the vaccine, and as people start to see their coworkers get it and have no ill side effects they’re going to be more confident in it,” Larkin said.
In total, according to Larkin, 400 first responders, including not only Cal Fire employees but city firefighters as well as community-based medical transportation workers, have inquired about volunteering to receive the vaccine. They’ll have through the first weeks of 2021 to enlist.
Four Cal Fire CZU Unit employees have tested positive for COVID-19 during the last few months. Those cases were due to exposure in their own households, rather than the workplace, Larkin said.
Firefighters are required to wear masks at all times on the job. When responding to someone in an emergency, they’re also required to when possible, move the patient to an open-air environment, Larkin said.
Still, firefighters are a high-risk group of workers, when one of their main duties involves responding to 911 calls.
“Any time someone who’s ill is transported to a hospital most likely they’ve had an encounter with a firefighter,” Larkin said. “We are the frontline, we are the ones that will be there first when you call 911.”