Photo By Brad Rhen | Maj. Gen. Mark Schindler, acting adjutant general of Pennsylvania, receives the...... read more read more
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FORT INDIANTOWN GAP, Pa. – Pennsylvania National Guard members recently began receiving the COVID-19 vaccine.
The vaccine was made available to PNG members beginning Jan. 4 on a voluntary basis, with priority given to Soldiers and Airmen who are actively supporting COVID-19 missions. It is being administered by medical specialists at several facilities across the commonwealth, including Fort Indiantown Gap.
“Although it's voluntary, every eligible, available and willing service member is encouraged to receive the vaccine,” said Maj. Jennifer Philson, a medical operations officer with the Pennsylvania National Guard state surgeon’s office.
After an initial round of vaccinations of front-line personnel, several senior leaders, including Maj. Gen. Mark Schindler, Pennsylvania’ acting adjutant general, received the vaccine on Jan. 13. Schindler said the vaccine is part of the path forward to getting the virus under control.
“I highly encourage every Soldier and Airman in the Pennsylvania National Guard to consider getting the COVID-19 vaccine when it becomes available to them,” he said. “This is about protecting our team, our teammates, our mission and our families and communities.”
Command Sgt. Maj. Jon Worley, the senior enlisted adviser to the adjutant general, also got the vaccine on Jan. 13. He said he decided to get the vaccine to protect his family, specifically, his 3-year-old granddaughter.
“I got the vaccine because we have to protect those around us, and that includes our family,” Worley said. “If my getting the vaccine stops me from spreading it to someone I love, for instance my granddaughter, that’s why I’m getting it. It’s also our way of also protecting our forces and stopping the spread amongst our forces.”
Vaccines work by stimulating a person's immune system to produce antibodies, like it would if they were exposed to a disease, according to the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention website. After getting vaccinated, you develop immunity to that disease without having to get the disease first, the CDC website says.
“Vaccines have been very effective in recent history and have nearly eradicated several deadly diseases, like smallpox, measles, mumps and polio,” Philson said.
The combination of getting vaccinated and following CDC’s recommendations to protect yourself and others offers the best protection from COVID-19, Philson added.
Philson said she plans to get the vaccine herself as soon as it’s available to her.
“Just like for any other Guard mission, whether we’re supporting winter storms or floods or civil unrest, us getting the vaccine is doing our part to support and protect the community,” she said. “For me, it’s the right thing to do. It’s how I can help.”
More information on the COVID-19 vaccine can be found on the CDC website: www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/faq.html.
| Date Taken: | 01.14.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 01.14.2021 15:57 |
| Story ID: | 386986 |
| Location: | FORT INDIANTOWN GAP, PA, US |
| Web Views: | 63 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, Pa. National Guard members begin receiving COVID-19 vaccine, by Brad Rhen, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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