CAMP BONDSTEEL, Kosovo— U.S. Army Soldiers with the 566th Medical Company (Area Support) based out of Fort Hood, Texas, assigned to Regional Command-East, Kosovo Force, administered the first round of COVID-19 vaccines to Soldiers at Camp Bondsteel, Kosovo, on March 27, 2021. Camp Bondsteel’s medical staff were the first group to receive the vaccine.
“We just received the Janssen Johnson and Johnson vaccine from Germany,” said Capt. Kimberly Raymond, Camp Bondsteel’s infection control nurse with the 566th MCAS. “We wanted to start off right away vaccinating our Soldiers and civilians to protect the force and help create a barrier against COVID-19.”
Over the course of the next week, the medical staff at Camp Bondsteel plan to give a COVID-19 vaccine to any U.S. Soldier or Department of Defense civilian in RC-E who wants to receive one. While receiving the vaccine isn’t mandatory, RC-E and KFOR leadership and medical professionals have emphasized the benefits of getting the vaccine now to help slow the spread of the virus.
“It meant a lot to me,” said Spc. Jacob Crowson, a combat medic specialist with the 566th MCAS who received the vaccine. “Helping protect other people by not having the virus within myself and transmitting it to them is more important than me getting sick. I felt like I was doing my part to help everyone by getting the vaccine.”
The medical staff at the clinic are also making sure the vaccination process is safe. Masks are still required to be worn and social distancing is enforced when possible. The clinic and vaccination sites are kept clean and sanitary to ensure Soldiers’ safety.
“It helps me, as a nurse, to protect my patients from me transmitting COVID-19 to them, decreasing the likelihood of transmission and hopefully reducing COVID-19 spread across Europe and hopefully when I get back to the U.S.,” said Raymond.
Date Taken: | 03.27.2021 |
Date Posted: | 03.27.2021 13:09 |
Story ID: | 392434 |
Location: | CAMP BONDSTEEL, ZZ |
Hometown: | FORT CAVAZOS, TX, US |
Hometown: | ROCHESTER, MN, US |
Hometown: | SAN ANTONIO, TX, US |
Web Views: | 277 |
Downloads: | 1 |
This work, KFOR Soldiers administer COVID-19 vaccine, by SGT Jonathan Perdelwitz, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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