BREAKING: Health First Begins Vaccinating Frontline Workers Against COVID-19

By  //  December 22, 2020

HEALTH & MEDICINE NEWS

Sara Miller was the first frontline associate at Health First to be vaccinated against COVID-19. She was one of more than 220 of Brevard’s community healthcare system to receive the Moderna coronavirus vaccine on Monday at Holmes Regional, just hours after the shipment arrived. (Health First image)

Moderna shipment hits Brevard’s community healthcare system, helping to protect those who care for you and your loved ones.

BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – For weeks, Sara Miller had been telling everyone she knew – she was ready to get the coronavirus vaccine.

On Monday, she got her first shot.

Sara was the first frontline associate at Health First to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

“There’s not a doubt in my mind,” said Sara, 26, RN, Interim Assistant Manager in the Medical Intensive Care Unit at Health First’s Holmes Regional Medical Center in Melbourne.

“I’ve been saying for weeks now, ‘I’ll be the first one in line.’ ” And she was.

Sara was one of more than 220 of Brevard’s community healthcare system to receive the Moderna coronavirus vaccine on Monday at Holmes Regional, just hours after the shipment arrived.

Health First Pharmacy personnel, including Pharmacy Manager Dana Scholtz, at left, with Moderna vaccine in the foreground. (Health First image)
Sara Miller with her vaccine receipt after being vaccinated against COVID-19. She was one of more than 220 of Brevard’s community healthcare system to receive the Moderna coronavirus vaccine on Monday at Holmes Regional, just hours after the shipment arrived. (Health First image)

Health First had a plan in place, based on guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, so when the immunizations arrived, workers most at risk for contracting COVID-19 due to their job duties would be provided the opportunity to be vaccinated.

Associates were not mandated to do so, however. A steady stream of associates quickly signed up and showed up to be vaccinated – with social distancing, masking and other safety protocols in place.

Those who received the first round of shots registered for their second dose, to be administered 28 days later, for maximum protection against the virus.

As supplies and guidance expand, Health First will open vaccinations up to the rest of their associates, and, as the CDC recommends, the public.

For Sara, she’s seen the impact the virus can have, having worked with COVID-19 patients early on. The sick patients in isolation. The strain on the loved ones, as well as the healthcare workers so desperately trying to help them.

So, who is she getting vaccinated for?

“Everyone,” Sara said. “I personally don’t have any family close by who are high risk. My parents live across the state of Florida, and I’ve only seen them once this year. So it’s really for them, for everyone in our community.”

Health First Pharmacy Manager Dana Scholtz fills a syringe with Moderna vaccine. (Health First image)
Dr. Rodel Banal cites “Family, Patients” in a celebratory sign after getting the Moderna vaccine. (Health First image)
Dr. Craig Candle e-signs a consent form before getting the vaccine. (Health First image)