The Manitowoc County Health Department has begun their COVID-19 vaccination efforts for citizens aged 65 and older, as well as Police and Fire Department personnel.
We were able to speak with one of the vaccine administrators, Barbra Herman, who has an extensive medical background. “Prior to this situation, I retired from the Health Department,” she explained. “I worked there as a Public Health Nurse for 39 years, and I knew that if ever there would be a pandemic that they would need assistance.”
Barbra also voiced her excitement that the vaccination efforts have finally made their way to Manitowoc County. She called it “wonderful” and “the beginning of the solution”. She also called it “a day for celebration.”
We also spoke with Sally Steinbrenner, who received the Moderna vaccine, along with her husband Dennis. Sally said she was nervous coming into the clinic but is happy that her first dosage is done.
She explained that she was excited to help put an end to the COVID pandemic, but said that they did adjust their lives a little bit to help slow the spread. “We have curtailed going into places to eat, doing the basic kind of shopping that we have to do,” Sally told SeehaferNews.com. “We have done a lot of traveling on our own, day trips and that type of thing. We have done a lot of hiking at State parks just to kind of keep away from people.”
The Health Department is having all patients sit in a waiting area (with chairs placed six feet apart) so they can monitor if they have any side effects or immediate symptoms. Neither Sally nor Dennis had any symptoms to speak of immediately after receiving the vaccine.
We also spoke with Emergency Services Director Travis Waack, who said that the 1,200 vaccines they were allotted are all scheduled to be administered this week, with the second dose being a separate allotment. “It’s the State’s responsibility to make sure that they have those second doses,” Waack explained.
“They will automatically ship that second dose to us in a month.”
Waack explained that for right now the only clinic they are running is in Manitowoc, but if they receive larger allotments they may expand into a second or third location.
