Maryland Guard Administers COVID-19 Vaccine in Charles County
Article & photos by U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Enjoli Saunders and video by Master Sgt. Christopher Schepers, both members of 175th Wing Public Affairs
Maryland Air and Army National Guard medical personnel formed Mobile Vaccination Support Teams to aid the Maryland Department of Health and county health departments in the state’s vaccine response efforts. Maryland Governor Larry Hogan activated the MDNG to accelerate the distribution of COVID-19 vaccinations.
An MVST 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 Jan. 6, 2021, to assist the Charles County Department Health with vaccinations.
“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, M.D., 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 administered, 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 medical professionals are well prepared and the vaccine is safe and effective. The citizens who received the vaccine Jan. 6 and Jan. 9 are members of the local community.
Following Maryland’s COVID-19 vaccination phased distribution plan, MDNG members are currently administering 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 U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Lindsey Campbell, the healthcare noncommissioned officer in charge of a mobile vaccination team assigned to the 224th Medical Company Area Support. “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 and Charles County Department of Health have already administered 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.”