'Hope is on the way': Retirement community hosts first COVID vaccine clinic
A retirement community in Prince George’s County is celebrating after hosting its first COVID-19 vaccine clinic for staff members and residents.
PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, Md. (ABC7) — A retirement community in Prince George’s County is celebrating after hosting its first COVID-19 vaccine clinic for staff members and residents.
“We are thrilled. This is a shot of hope today, here at Collington,” said Ann Gillespie, the retirement community’s chief executive officer.
“We're hopeful that this puts us on the right track to the new normal and eventually a stop to this pandemic,” said Megan Barbour, the chief operating officer.
She was one of a number of staff members and residents who received the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine.
“This is one of the first signs of hope in what's been an incredibly dark year, but hope is on the way,” said Cory Hall, Collington’s associate sales and marketing director.
After getting the dose, they then had to sit and wait for 15 minutes to make sure they didn’t have any adverse reactions.
There was also a boxed lunch, goody bags, raffles and a chance to take photos highlighting the reason why they decided to get vaccinated.
“A bit nerve-wracking at the beginning, but being here and being able to take it for my family members, for the community, for the residents and my fellow workmates, it's really an awesome opportunity,” said Liseli Nzerue, who works as a charge nurse at the facility.
Congregate living facilities like nursing homes and long term care communities were included in Phase 1 of Maryland’s COVID-19 vaccine plan.
It comes after they were hit hard by the virus.
As of December 23, Maryland’s COVID-19 dashboard shows Collington had 71 cases of the virus among staff members and 47 among residents with 13 residents dying.
“Like every other nursing home and retirement community, it's hit us hard. Not as hard as many others. We've been lucky, but every day, we've had to stay one step ahead to be sure that we're make sure we're protecting our residents and team members,” said Gillespie.
That meant infection control, mitigation procedures and now the vaccine.
“I'm vaccinating here for the Collington community. For all the team members, the residents that are here, the ones are sadly no longer with us. I'm doing it for them,” said Barbour.
