OSHKOSH, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – About 60 first responders at the Oshkosh Fire Department are getting their first dose of the coronavirus vaccine.
“I feel fine, I feel fine!” said Oshkosh Fire Department Battalion Chief, Chuck Hable after he got his first dose of the Moderna vaccine.
Hable tells FOX 11 the department only knew a day in advance that the vaccines were on the way.
“Getting the vaccination is a big step not only protecting the paramedics and the firefighters who work for the fire department but protecting the community as well.”
About 30 department personnel are getting vaccines Tuesday and 30 more during the next two days.
Hable says by the end of the week, about two thirds of the over 100 employees should be vaccinated, by choice.
“Between ten or twelve of our firefighters have either had it and we assumed they got it out there or they have been in quarantine because either somebody that they have worked closely with or lived with had had it,” said Public Information Officer, John Holland.
Holland tells FOX 11 the department has and will continue to fight the virus.
“Even though we are getting the vaccine today, it is not going to change any of our practices with P.P.E.”
“We’re in phase 1 A of getting vaccines, in fact we received our first vaccine just yesterday,” said Doug Gieryn, Health officer of the Winnebago County Health Department.
Gieryn tells FOX 11 its unclear who is in the next phase of the CDC’s priority group,
“This 1 A phase is primary health care providers and those who are in group homes and nursing homes. 1B actually hasn’t been fully defined yet by the state but its likely to be our first responders, people providing direct services, persons at high risk of 75 and higher.”
For now, the health department only received 200 doses and is vaccinating those who are dealing with COVID-19 patients.
The Fond Du Lac Fire Department also received their first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine on Tuesday.
The vaccine first arrived to Wisconsin three weeks ago on Monday, December 14th.
