Chelsie Hatfield, who is a nurse practitioner in the White River Junction VA Medical Center's primary care unit, receives one of the first Moderna COVID-19 vaccines given at the hospital from physician assistant Crystal Colby in White River Junction, Vt., on Dec. 21, 2020. The medical center received 900 doses and will be giving them to their frontline workers over the next couple of weeks. Hatfield, of Sharon, Vt., is also in the Air Force Reserve and was deployed to work in the Intensive Care Unit at the Queens Hospital Center in New York City to treat COVID-19 patients for three months last spring. At right is J.P. Flanigin, of West Windsor, Vt., who was also vaccinated and is a nurse and infection preventionist at the hospital. "This is the best shot of my life," Flanigin said. (Valley News - Geoff Hansen) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com.
Chelsie Hatfield, who is a nurse practitioner in the White River Junction VA Medical Center's primary care unit, receives one of the first Moderna COVID-19 vaccines given at the hospital from physician assistant Crystal Colby in White River Junction, Vt., on Dec. 21, 2020. The medical center received 900 doses and will be giving them to their frontline workers over the next couple of weeks. Hatfield, of Sharon, Vt., is also in the Air Force Reserve and was deployed to work in the Intensive Care Unit at the Queens Hospital Center in New York City to treat COVID-19 patients for three months last spring. At right is J.P. Flanigin, of West Windsor, Vt., who was also vaccinated and is a nurse and infection preventionist at the hospital. "This is the best shot of my life," Flanigin said. (Valley News - Geoff Hansen) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com. Credit: Valley News photographs — Geoff Hansen

WHITE RIVER JUNCTION — Staff members at the White River Junction VA Medical Center began receiving coronavirus vaccines from Moderna on Monday.

The VA received 900 doses of the Moderna vaccine, which the Food and Drug Administration on Friday provided an emergency authorization for use in individuals 18 years or older, to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.

The VA plans to administer the vaccine to 200 employees by Wednesday, and soon after will begin offering it to veterans.

Among the frontline VA providers getting the vaccine on Monday was Chelsie Hatfield, a nurse practitioner from Sharon and captain in the Massachusetts Air Force Reserve who was deployed to a hospital in New York City for three months this spring when COVID-19 was ravaging the city.

“It doesn’t make anybody invincible, but it’s all risk reduction,” Hatfield said of getting the vaccine. “I think people just need to know that this is something that they can do to contribute to the safety of those around them.”

“Yes, we need to continue our vigilance in battling this virus — social distancing, hand washing, masks, avoiding gatherings. But rest assured, hope really is on the horizon,” Dr. Brett Rusch, the VA Medical Center’s executive director, said in an email to staffers. “As vaccine supplies increase, our ultimate goal is to offer COVID-19 vaccination to all veterans and employees who want to be vaccinated.”

The White River VA was among 113 VA medical centers around the country to receive the Moderna vaccines, based on identified need and the ability to store the vaccine at -4 degrees Fahrenheit, the VA said in a news release.

The vaccine, which requires a second dose four weeks later, has been determined to be 94% effective in clinical trials in preventing COVID-19.

The VA nationally has said top priority in its system will be given to health care personnel and veterans living in the VA’s long-term care facilities, with other patients then being offered the vaccine.

“As vaccines become available for more groups of veterans, VA care teams will reach out to eligible veterans to schedule vaccinations. There is no need to preregister or come to a facility to sign up,” the VA said in a news release.

Some 37 facilities in the VA system got the Pfizer-produced coronavirus vaccine last week but the White River Junction facility was not among them because it does not have a community living center or spinal-cord injury clinic, which are the type of services considered most at risk for transmission, according to VA spokeswoman Katherine Tang.

Hatfield, 32, is in charge of the immunizations program for the Air Force Reserve in Massachusetts and said she is “very familiar with vaccine development and how it works.”

“It just feels like the responsible thing to do for the general public,” she said of getting the vaccine, noting that she cares for some “very vulnerable” patients.

Hatfield spent three months this spring in the New York borough of Queens on a deployment, working in a city-owned hospital’s intensive care unit as scores of COVID-19 patients sought life-saving care.

She said she learned a lot about the importance of “early detection and early treatment,” and how other factors, such as obesity and diabetes can make people especially vulnerable to the virus.

“I really wish there was a little more focus on educating people about the prevention of illness, rather than (just) treating an illness,” she said.

“The routine washing of hands, and hygiene, wearing masks and getting your vaccine — all of those things compounded is the best way to keep the virus from spreading,” Hatfield said.

Hanover Terrace announces recoveries

The Hanover nursing home where seven people have died after contracting COVID-19 said 58 of 60 residents who tested positive are now deemed to have recovered from the virus. Two Hanover Terrace residents remain “seriously ill,” and five residents remain negative, according to Martha Ilsley, the facility’s full-time administrator.

Ilsley said in an email on Monday that 26 of 35 staff members who had tested positive have recovered.

Hanover Terrace plans to offer its initial round of COVID-19 vaccinations on Sunday to staff and residents. A second dose is scheduled for Jan. 17.

John P. Gregg can be reached at jgregg@vnews.com.