The First Five To Receive COVID19 Vaccine

“The First Five” to receive COVID19 Vaccine in our nation’s capital have been announced. Washington D.C. officials have reported that five members of the D.C. Fire and EMS will be among the first in the district to receive the COVID19 vaccine on Wednesday.

The five members, dubbed “The First Five” in a district press release, are Acting Fire and EMS Chief John Donnelly, Medical Director Dr. Robert Holman, Lts. Joseph Papariello and Keishea Jackson and Firefighter-EMT Julio Quinteros.

“Today, we have hope. After a long and tragic nine months, help is finally on the way,” D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said in a statement. “The First Five are sending a strong message about the importance of this vaccine to protect them, their families and loved ones, their patients and coworkers, and our entire city.”

Kaiser Permanente is distributing the vaccine when it receives its initial doses this Wednesday. The district will receive an initial allotment of 6,825 doses that will be distributed between Kaiser Permanente and five other hospitals. The follow other parts of the country in vaccine distrubution including New York where Sandra Lindsay received the first dose in a non-trial setting.

“I’m getting vaccinated for my city. In the last nine months, I’ve seen COVID devastate my department,” said Jackson, one of The First Five, in a statement. “I’ve seen my brothers and sisters go into the hospital. I’ve seen them with severe symptoms – things we never thought we would see. I’m getting vaccinated for my coworkers, I’m getting vaccinated for my family, and I’m getting vaccinated to make a change.”

The First Five To Receive COVID19 Vaccine

Some jurisdictions are moving fire and EMS out of the initial distribution of vaccinations despite a push by the International Association of Firefighters and others. Part of the reason may be the public firefighter unions in New York saying more than fifty percent of their members will not take it.