Photo By 2nd Lt. Enjoli Saunders | Members of the Maryland National Guard supporting the Charles County Health Department...... read more read more
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In support of Maryland Governor Larry Hogan’s plan to accelerate the distribution of COVID-19 vaccinations members, medical Airmen and Soldiers of the Maryland National Guard have been activated. MDNG members formed mobile vaccination support teams, which are providing support to the Maryland Department of Health and county health departments to aid in the state’s vaccine response.
Each MVST will consist of around 8-14 members with at least four medics and four medical support staff to assist with administering vaccines and providing logistical support. The first team was dispatched this past week to assist local health departments with vaccination clinics in Charles County, Maryland.
“They bring support staff and make it easy for our staff to not just vaccinate but to set the clinic up and take it down in an orderly manner,” said Dr. Dianna Abney, MD, the Health Officer for the Charles County Department of Health. “I also think it brought some comfort. We had a lot of veterans come through and said we are so glad to see [the MDNG] and people who said thank you to the guardsmen who are here.”
The goal at this site is to keep the vaccination process from check-in to issuance within 4-12 twelve minutes. Once the vaccine is given most individuals must wait on-site for 15 minutes to monitor for adverse reactions. However, those who have had a history of anaphylactic reactions are required to wait one hour on-site.
According to Abney, the vaccinators are well prepared, the vaccine is safe and effective. The folks who received the vaccine Saturday and Wednesday are members of the local community.
Following Maryland’s COVID-19 vaccination phased distribution plan, MDNG members are currently issuing vaccines to healthcare workers, first responders, public safety workers, correctional facility employees, as well as residents and staff of nursing homes.
“This is a public health concern and something that’s very near and dear to my heart,” stated Staff Sergeant Lindsey Campbell, the healthcare noncommissioned officer in charge of a mobile vaccination team assigned to the 224th Medical Company Area Support, Maryland National Guard. “I have three children and I’m thinking about their future, my soldier’s friends and family, everybody in the entire community."
The MDNG along with the Maryland Department of Health and other local health departments have already issued hundreds of vaccines within the past few days.
“We bring our expertise,” said Campbell. “We are trained medics that act professionally with a solid work ethic. We are here and will be here until the job is done.”
More information on how the MDNG is supporting the Maryland Department of Health in distributing the COVID-19 vaccine:
https://go.usa.gov/xAnWj
| Date Taken: | 01.09.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 01.14.2021 09:27 |
| Story ID: | 386927 |
| Location: | MARYLAND, US |
| Web Views: | 222 |
| Downloads: | 4 |
This work, Maryland National Guard Activated to Distribute Covid-19 Vaccine, by 2nd Lt. Enjoli Saunders, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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