PLATTSBURGH, NY (WCAX) – The Moderna vaccine for COVID-19 has arrived at Hudson Headwaters Health Network in Plattsburgh.
So far 60 staff members have been vaccinated and after nine long months it was an emotional experience.
I need a moment, “said Dr. Yamilee Jacques of Hudson Headwaters.” This is getting a little emotional for me. “
Jacques received her first dose of Moderna vaccine on Wednesday. And the reality of what had just happened struck her.
“It’s just been a tough year,” said Jacques.
A difficult year for everyone.
“Normal, everyday things that we always took for granted,” said Dr. David Ellsworth of Hudson Headwaters.
For those working in healthcare, it is difficult to describe how this year has felt.
“It’s been mentally exhausting,” said Jacques. “You just feel that you are giving everything you can and that you need that time away from work. You need that socialization and time with your family. “
Jacques’s family lives across the closed border in Montreal. She hasn’t seen them in almost a year.
It’s a similar story to Ellsworth.
“I would feel terrible if I got one of my family members infected and they had to go to the hospital or worse,” he said.
The vaccine is the light at the end of a very dark tunnel for the health workers of the Hudson Headwaters office in Plattsburgh. They get the vaccine this week.
“It feels like the best Christmas present,” said Jacques.
They share the medical milestone of reminding people to listen to the science and facts of this pandemic.
“We work for the people, to help people, not to harm people. Trust science, ”Jacques said.
“I’m excited to get it and to prove to people it’s a safe vaccination,” said Ellsworth.
The vaccine will not make your mask go away and you will still need to keep your social distance until we achieve herd immunity, but this shot, this vaccine, is starting to pave the way for a pandemic-free community.
“This virus, we all know that, it does not discriminate. But the good news is that the vaccine doesn’t work either, ”said Jacques.
“This finally gives us some hope to move in the right direction,” said Ellsworth.
The office says they have enough doses for their entire staff. They will administer doses for the next few weeks.
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