Public health employees share their vaccination experiences

FAIRFIELD - The employees of Jefferson County Public Health received the Moderna vaccine against COVID-19 on Dec. 23 and want to tell the public about their experience.

The Public Health Department posted on its Facebook account the names of its employees and what each experienced in the day or two after receiving the vaccine.

Nurse Deb Buch reported arm tenderness on the day of the injection, but no problems since then. Nurse Tammy Merrill said she felt achy in her arm for about 36-48 hours after the injection, but nothing after that. Administrator Chris Estle said she had arm tenderness on the day of the injection and on the following day but has reported no problems since.

'I think sharing that personal information is important for the public to hear from a health care professional and people they can trust,” Estle said.

In its Facebook post, the health department stated, 'As nurses, we trust science and the very important role vaccines have in the prevention of communicable diseases.”

The department asked readers to imagine a world without the polio vaccine (which still is given today) or the smallpox vaccine, which has not been given since 1972, when smallpox was eradicated.

'When people say, ‘We are not impacted by those diseases, anymore,' that statement is true, because individuals were and continue to be willing to receive vaccines for vaccine preventable diseases,” the department wrote.

Public health's employees will receive their second dose of the Moderna vaccine 28 days after their first dose. The vaccine is being distributed to people based on their perceived need. The highest priority group includes health care personnel and nursing home residents. The second priority group includes essential workers such as educators, those in the food and agriculture sector, police, firefighters and corrections officers. The third priority group includes adults 65 and older, and those with preexisting medical conditions.

Should someone get the vaccine if they have already have COVID? Estle said yes, even those individuals are advised to get the vaccine, but they should wait 90 days after having COVID.

The pharmaceutical company Pfizer has developed a vaccine for COVID and is beginning to ship it to distribution centers. However, Estle said Jefferson County will not receive the Pfizer vaccine because it must be kept at an ultracold temperature, and the county does not have a place to store it.

Does getting the vaccine mean people are immune from COVID? Estle said no vaccine is 100 percent effective, and it's possible even those who've been vaccine could get sick, but she said their illness should be less severe.