Indiana National Guard soldiers and airmen lined up, one after another, to get shots that could protect them from COVID-19.
For months now, they’ve been on the frontlines essentially, helping in the fight against the ongoing coronavirus pandemic per Gov. Eric Holcomb’s orders. On Wednesday, they received the first COVID-19 vaccines to be distributed in Johnson County.
Troops from around the state reported to the Johnson County National Guard Armory in Franklin to take some of the first Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines apportioned to state military personnel in the country.
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Click here to purchase photos from this galleryThe U.S. Department of Defense chose Indiana and New York as pilot states to develop a process for widespread national guard vaccinations, said Col. Lisa Snyder, state air surgeon.
About 200 who work on the frontlines of the state’s coronavirus response received the first vaccines, with more vaccine clinics planned the rest of this week, Snyder said.
“Indiana is on the forefront, which we are very proud of,” she said. “We have a lot of soldiers and airmen that are in the long-term care facilities, working in food banks, warehouses and all sorts of different places across our communities where we serve and work.”
More than 2,300 Hoosier guardsmen were called on to fight the coronavirus pandemic since March. Right now, about 1,300 are assisting in long-term care facilities throughout the state.
The guard has worked in each of Indiana’s 92 counties to distribute more than 1 million gowns, 1.2 million face shields, more than 4 million respirators, more than 5.5 million masks and more than 6.3 million gloves. At food banks, the guard has served 3.5 million Hoosiers and helped distribute about 34 million meals.
It was the extensive nature of the guard’s mission to fight coronavirus that prompted the defense department to choose Indiana for this mission, said Col. Michael Jones, state army surgeon.
“Indiana was chosen among the other national guard states because we have one of the largest numbers that remain on active duty orders in response to COVID,” Jones said.
Guardsmen are again helping out by vaccinating their peers. All vaccines being administered at the Franklin clinic are being given by guardsmen who completed Centers for Disease Control and Prevention courses specific to the coronavirus, including administering the COVID-19 vaccination, Snyder said.
“They have stepped up and they do want to be a part of being able to stop the pandemic, being able to control it,” she said. “We have had a great response, and honestly, as surgeons, we would never doubt.”
First Lt. Brooke Hansen was one airman tapped to vaccinate her peers Wednesday, and she was also part of the team of three who are trained to help in case of an adverse reaction to the vaccine. For Hansen, being a vaccinator was just another way to help out, something she’s done during the pandemic as a soldier and as an emergency room nurse in her civilian life.
“I just want to help out in any way I can,” Hansen said. “It feels like we are part of history right now.”
As a nurse, Hansen was tapped to join the guard’s COVID-19 testing team and work on contact tracing, which has been taxing work, she said.
“I’ve given more this year than I thought I had. I’m proud to be able to do so,” Hansen said.
Health care leaders with the guard spent a lot of time educating soldiers, so many are signing up for the vaccine, Jones said. The vaccine is couched as a way to help guardsmen stay healthy while they help lead the state out of the public health emergency.
“We want this done just as much as anyone else. We are proud and excited and we want to lead the way out,” Jones said.
Sgt. Scherrie Blackwell was vaccinated Wednesday. The shot will give her protection as she continues her mission relieving strained staff at a long-term care facility.
“Hopefully by next year, we will be on the other side of this so I can see my family and get back to the office,” Blackwell said. “I feel great.”
Many soldiers expressed pride in taking the shot, knowing they are doing their part to slow the spread, Hansen said.
The mission to battle COVID-19 is the longest Blackwell has served continuously in her decade of service, and the first time that service has hit so close to home, she said.
“It feels historical,” Blackwell said. “This is the only mission I’ve been a part of that has been directly affecting my actual neighbors. I’m excited to be apart of it and be in the military at this time, the national guard especially.”
Not all health care workers In Indiana have received the vaccine, but guard health care leaders say this distribution is fair and ethical.
“Based on the fact that we have soldiers and airmen working in long-term care facilities, nursing homes, the department of correction and other places, it was felt that, by the type of work they are doing, it puts them in that one alpha-tier, as we call it,” Jones said. “That’s the reason we got one limited supply. As far as when the rest of the guard gets it is hard to say because the priority is those working in health care facilities.”
Though no vaccines have been given yet to Johnson Memorial Health employees on the frontlines, Dr. David Dunkle, president and CEO of Johnson Memorial Health, agrees guard members should be a priority. The hospital is expected to receive a shipment of vaccines today and start vaccinations on Friday.
“I think you’re talking about different buckets. Their bucket of vaccines isn’t being pulled from Johnson Memorial Health,” Dunkle said. “There is an allotment for the state, the federal government. All I can be concerned about are my employees and the others in the community who are frontline workers.”
