COVID-19 vaccinations for frontline health care workers in Longmont began this week and the first to get an injection Wednesday said her arm was sore for about 24 hours.
The pain reminded emergency room physician Leslie Armstrong of a tetanus shot. The sting subsided near the 24-hour mark and Thursday morning Armstrong jogged 4 miles.
The 39-year-old Armstong also plans to encourage everyone to get the vaccination to stop the virus from punishing her hometown of Longmont.
“I’m a homegrown girl, I spent my summers swimming at Sunset Pool and hours at the library reading, my mother’s family were some of the first settlers in this area, and it has been an honor to be back home and serve and care for the community I grew up in,” Armstrong said in an email.
“... But through this pandemic, I have seen the devastation both the physical disease that it has caused, but also the mental stress, worry, depression, anxiety in so many people.”
Armstrong was among the 275 frontline workers at Centura Health’s Longmont United Hospital to get the vaccine Wednesday. Injections were scheduled through Friday as part of a statewide rollout of the injections that medical officials hope will slow the virus and prevent more deaths, sickness and business closures.
Armstrong said she’s seen how COVID-19 has closed many small businesses in Longmont. Those enterprises, she said, are the backbone of the city.
“I spent the evening after getting the vaccine at a local small business discussing how to keep the doors open and the bills paid,” Armstrong said in her email. “In order to fully get this all behind us, we need everyone that can (to) get the vaccine so that we can once again return to the vibrant healthy community that we were before.”
On Thursday morning, UCHealth started administering the Pfizer vaccine to health care workers at Longs Peak Hospital in Longmont, according to a news release.
Dr. John Bradley, an anesthesiologist at the hospital, was the first person to receive a shot early Thursday.
“I wanted to quickly get myself in line and get the first shot available. It ended up being the first slot at the hospital,” Brandley stated in the release.
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Dr. John Bradley, an anesthesiologist at UCHealth Longs Peak Hospital in Longmont, was the first health care worker to receive a dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at the hospital. The health system started distributing the dose to health care workers on Thursday morning. . By Kelly Tracer / UCHealth“We didn’t know what to expect,” Bradley stated in the release. “We didn’t know if we’d be seeing one patient or 10 patients or 10,000. Especially at the beginning, there was a lot that was unknown.”
Health care professionals now know so much more about the virus and how to better care for the patients impacted by it, Bradley stated. “There is still stress, and there is still anxiety when working with patients with the active virus, but I think we’ve done a great job this year.”
He added the precautions the community has taken — including social distancing, mask wearing, cleaning and staying away from loved ones — have kept the virus at bay. The vaccination “might be the final tool to defeat the virus, to help our country get back on track,” he stated in the release.
UCHealth administered the state’s first vaccine to a health care worker on Monday at Poudre Valley Hospital in Fort Collins. The system has since launched vaccine clinics for its health care workers at several of its other facilities across the state, including Longs Peak Hospital, according to the release.
Weld County opens drive-thru testing site in Longmont
Also this week, Weld County in coordination with the Weld County Office of Emergency Management and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, began offering a free drive-thru COVID-19 testing at the county’s Southwest Services Building at 4209 County Road 24½ in Longmont. The testing site will be open through Dec. 30.
The testing site is open to anybody who wishes to be tested. Individuals who want to be tested must be inside an enclosed vehicle for safety, according to a post on the county’s website.
No appointment, physician order or insurance is required. Pre-registration is available online but staff at the test site can register patients on site, according to the post.
A nasal swab sample will be collected by Mako Medical staff at the testing site. Patients can expect test results four days after testing by texting “MAKO” to 66349, visiting the website or calling the customer service line at 719-416-5857, the web post stated.
Testing will be conducted from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. through Dec. 30. No testing will be available Thursday or Dec 25.
Boulder County continues to conduct drive-thru testing at a number of locations including the Boulder County Fairgrounds in Longmont. Testing at the fairgrounds is done between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. seven days a week, with no tests available Thursday or Dec 25. Advance registration is recommended to speed results.
Testing also is available at the St. Vrain Valley School District Innovation Center from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. To register for testing at the Innovation Center, click here.
Vehicles line up at the free COVID testing site at the Boulder County Fairgrounds in Longmont on Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2020.(Photo by Macie May)
