EMT: Vaccine ‘giant step’ needed for normalcy
Someday when vaccine distribution is more widespread, EMS officer Jason Cintron looks forward to when he can see his 7-year-old daughter Aria play in her soccer games again.
Cintron and his wife, Shannon, used to spend time with the other families at her games in the Waterbury area, which were complete with a hydration area and a “cheering section on the sideline,” he said. Once the pandemic started, though, it “kind of put a halt on everything.”
The 27-year-old Watertown resident doesn’t expect to return to some of those prepandemic activities “in the foreseeable future.” But Cintron has taken a step closer to whatever comes next. He got his first dose of the Moderna vaccine in late December, and is planning to get his next one before the end of this month.
“It was very exciting,” Cintron, who works for the West Hartford Fire Department, said about getting his first dose. “This is a time that we all wanted when the pandemic first started last year … this is one of the giant steps we needed to take.”
In addition to getting a card with information about his vaccination on it, Cintron said he’s also been using a system that helps him keep tabs on the process, which has been “very user-friendly.”
Cintron also said he has been working with the West Hartford-Bloomfield Health District on training for paramedics so they can inoculate people at the clinics.
For others considering getting vaccinated, Cintron encouraged them to gather the facts when making their decisions and to carry on with the protective measures that are in place.
“It’s not gone, even though you’re vaccinated ... try working together as a community and to get this virus done with, or at least somewhat back to normal living,” he said.