Photo By Rick Emert | FORT CARSON, Colo. — Maj. Gen. Matthew W. McFarlane, commanding general, 4th...... read more read more
By Scott Prater
Mountaineer staff
FORT CARSON, Colo. — Fort Carson leaders and medical personnel have developed and opened a new primary COVID-19 vaccination site, the William “Bill” Reed Special Events Center (SEC). Normally the SEC hosts expos, fairs and entertainment style events, but for the foreseeable future, the SEC will be the primary venue for administering the COVID-19 vaccine to the post’s populace.
“We started administering the vaccine at Evans Army Community Hospital (EACH) to our initial personnel, mainly health care workers and front-line essential workers, but as we’ve moved on in phases, this allows us to have more throughput and maintain social distancing, which is very important for us,” said Maj. Theresa Suggs, COVID-19 Vaccination officer in charge.
Fort Carson Army and medical leaders considered and evaluated a number of locations to house the vaccine operation around post, and Suggs said the SEC was chosen for a number of important reasons.
“It made sense to choose the SEC,” she said. “It is one of the more familiar locations for our beneficiary population — its large and you can fit a lot of people in here while still observing social distance requirements.”
Maj. Gen. Matthew W. McFarlane, commanding general, 4th Infantry Division and Fort Carson, learned about the features and operation of the facility.
“It feels great (to be taking the next steps in delivering the vaccine),” McFarlane said. “We’ve been fighting this COVID-19 virus here since March, trying to contain it and limiting exposure to our personnel. But now we have the means to combat it and eventually snuff it out as we work to obtain and maintain the vaccination levels we need to get things back to normal.”
The commanding general explained, like any challenge for the Army, Fort Carson has worked its way through the last year and prevailed.
“We’ve maintained our readiness,” McFarlane said. “We’ve deployed forces overseas and throughout the U.S. helping communities in their fight against the virus, and we’ve done what our nation has asked us to do.”
According to Suggs, the SEC will continue to operate as a vaccination site for at least the next couple of months, while EACH staff works alongside Army brigade medics to administer the vaccine.
“We looked at our forecasting, and to have a large throughput here, we need to have a complement of trained and educated staff to conduct our operations effectively,” she said. “It was definitely a smart move to task Army personnel. We’ll need them even more as this mission ramps up.”
While receiving the COVID-19 vaccine is completely voluntary, McFarlane said it is important to inform and educate community members on the facts surrounding the vaccine.
“We are encouraging Soldiers to get the vaccine because, like I’ve said, it’s a primary weapon in the fight against the virus right now,” he added. “It is the quickest way to ensure we eliminate the virus over time.”
| Date Taken: | 01.28.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 03.16.2021 12:34 |
| Story ID: | 391496 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 19 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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