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Date: 1/27/2021
EAST LONGMEADOW – Nearly 800 police, firefighters and EMS workers from around the area took part in a first responder coronavirus vaccine clinic at the St. Michael’s Hall in East Longmeadow. Personnel from East Longmeadow, Longmeadow, Hampden, Wilbraham, Ludlow and Chicopee received the first of two shots that will protect them from the virus that causes COVID-19.
East Longmeadow Fire Chief Paul Morrisette said that roughly 60 percent of the towns’ first responders opted for the shot.
“It’s not mandatory. We can’t force anyone to take it,” Morrisette said, adding that people have their individual reasons for choosing to abstain from the vaccine.
Most of the first responders that did receive the shot reported some soreness at the injection site and a couple of individuals experienced minor anaphylaxis, Morrissette said. Anaphylaxis is an allergic reaction, symptoms of which can include hives, flushed skin, or paleness; feeling warm; a lump in your throat or difficulty swallowing; nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea; a weak and rapid pulse; runny nose and sneezing; and tingling hands, feet, mouth, or scalp.
Because it is possible, though unlikely, to experience this reaction, patients who receive the vaccine are under observation for 15 minutes after it is administered. The booster shots of the vaccine will be given after three weeks.
Even after the second dose of the vaccine is administered, the first responders won’t be taking any chances.
“We’re following all the protocols. Masks 24/7 at the station and all that,” Morrissette said.
Aside from the first responders, doses of the vaccine were distributed to other people eligible under phase 1 of the state’s vaccine rollout plan. Some home health workers and staff at the McLaren House, a senior care facility, were vaccinated in the clinic.