St. Mary’s Receives Guard’s Help in Vaccinating Fellow Citizens
By 1st Sgt. Mitchell Miller, 29th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment
HOLLYWOOD, Md.– Soldiers from the 224th Medical Company Area Support, Maryland Army National Guard, were called to the Hollywood Volunteer Fire Department to assist the St. Mary’s Department of Health in administering the COVID-19 vaccine to registered community members via a drive-thru vaccination event on Jan. 21, 2021.
At Governor Larry Hogan’s directions, MDNG mobile vaccination support teams assist state and local health officials in administering the vaccine. The MVST, composed of medical professionals and support personnel, work side-by-side their civilian counterparts.
“St. Mary’s County has really pulled together and teamed up to make a good effort towards this vaccination,” said Katie Wells, St. Mary’s Department of Health operations chief, whose team vaccinated over 5,500 people so far. “I think it’s pretty awesome,”
Pvt. Thomas Dowdall, a medic in the 224th Medical Company Area Support, Maryland Army National Guard, prepares to to administer the COVID-19 vaccine to local citizens alongside St. Mary’s Department of Health workers at the Hollywood Volunteer Fire Department in Hollywood, Maryland, on Jan. 21, 2021.
The Maryland National Guard is comprised of citizen-soldiers who assist their communities to get through natural disasters and state of emergencies. Since the COVID-19 pandemic has been declared a National Emergency, the implementation of a vaccine is crucial to getting our communities back to normalcy.
“We are making a big difference, “said Cadet Nithin Thambu, a member of the 224th MCAS. “As the National Guard, I think it’s our priority to work with the people who work in the communities and try to make it better. I think they need us here, and we’re here helping them out.”
“The biggest thing right now is the safety of everybody. We just don’t have enough civilians to be able to do these different things,” said George McKay Sr., a St. Mary’s county resident. “[The military] is out here to help us”
The vials are guaranteed to have five doses for Pfizer and 10 doses for Moderna, but Wells says they can get an extra dose from most vials allowing them to use over 100% of their supply. The vaccine enrollment system only allows people to register for vaccination based on how many each vial is guaranteed to deliver. Since they can normally get more out of each vial, when there are open vials and no more registered people, they use a stand-by on-call roster for those looking to get the vaccine but aren’t yet signed up for it. In this way nothing goes to waste.
Wells said the county has requested the military’s mobile vaccination support teams everyday going forward to help administer the vaccine and help deliver information to the residents as they come through the lines to receive the injection.
“I definitely think that as we will be doing more vaccinations in the coming days it’s definitely going to help us out because we’ll have more staff available to us,” said Wells. “We will be going to 7 day a week-operations starting after next week, and it will help us to relieve some of our vaccinators from working daily and to just sub in for different spots.”
“I’m excited to be working with the military,” said Carolyn Hutchins, community health nurse vaccinator with St. Mary’s County Health Department. “I came in and saw everyone was here and everybody is doing different positions. I felt supported and I felt like finally the cavalry is here. We’re gonna get some help! Even though we were doing good, they are needed.”
Even the Maryland Adjutant General, Maj. Gen. Timothy Gowen, showed up to show his support and let the staff know the military is here to support them. As a St. Mary’s county resident himself, he knows the importance of vaccination sites like this one, and how the military’s role to help the communities during this pandemic is essential to the success of the mission.
The military has activated approximately 375 service members in support of COVID-19 vaccinations throughout the state. The MVSTs have assisted with over 6,000 immunizations and average six locations a day. So far, they have supported vaccination efforts in Charles, Prince George’s, Talbot, Anne Arundel, Baltimore, St. Mary’s and Cicil Counties. Even though the MVSTs are typically only eight to 10 Guard members, they are well-training and ready for this mission.
