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Three former prisoners of war over 90 were the first patients to receive the anti-Covid vaccination at the Veterans Hospital in Birmingham, Alabama, on Tuesday.
Now doctors and nurses are vaccinated there alongside older former military personnel.
WELT spoke to two doctors on Thursday after receiving the Pfizer / Biontech vaccination.
Initially, the hospital, which is under the Ministry of Veterans, wants to vaccinate 170 people a day.
The vaccine is strictly secured.
Sean R. Hatton, internist and head of several outpatient departments at the Birmingham VA Medical Center in Birmingham, Alabama
Source: Daniel Friedrich Sturm
WORLD:
How did you experience the Covid vaccination?
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Sean R. Hatton, internist and head of several outpatient departments:
For me personally it was very good.
I get the flu vaccine every year.
I got the Covid vaccination yesterday, and it was actually less than the flu vaccination I had a long time ago this year.
I actually didn't feel anything during the Covid vaccination.
My arm hurt a little last night and this morning.
But that's about it.
WORLD:
Have you treated Covid patients in the last few months?
Hatton:
Yeah.
We have treated a number of Covid patients, both here in the hospital and externally, i.e. at the patients' homes.
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WORLD:
What do you think about the fact that surveys show that many people in the US and in Europe are skeptical of the vaccine?
Hatton:
I think part of it has to do with a lack of faith in science.
I trust science, I trust the leading medical professionals who keep us informed.
For me that is the crucial point, more important than what is being heard in the media and elsewhere.
There is an information overload.
But I'm a medical professional who reads technical articles that follow guidelines from the CDC and the FDA.
If people followed these guidelines and trusted the medical professionals, we would be in a much better position today.
WORLD:
Are your family and friends ready to be vaccinated?
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Hatton:
Oh yeah.
I've lived in America for decades while my parents live in the UK.
They are now very jealous that I got the vaccination early because I work in the healthcare sector.
I am now in regular contact with them via Whatsapp, tell them how I feel after the vaccination, that everything went well.
This is important to me because there are a lot of fears about the vaccination.
My parents trust me and are hoping for the vaccination, especially since they have been shielded at home for several months.
The same goes for the rest of my family.
I am the only doctor in my family, they follow my advice.
Andrew Sellers, Internist, Medical Director at Birmingham VA Medical Center in Birmingham, Alabama
Source: Daniel Friedrich Sturm
WORLD:
How was the experience of being vaccinated?
Andrew Sellers, Internist, Medical Director:
It was good.
Our team did a really good job streamlining the process.
You fill out the forms, get informed about the vaccine, get the injection, then sit and watch yourself for about 15 minutes.
The actual injection is similar to the flu shot.
WORLD:
Did you feel any side effects?
Sellers:
No, but I only got my vaccination an hour ago.
WORLD:
Many people are very reluctant when it comes to vaccinations.
Do you understand?
Sellers:
I understand the concerns.
It's been a crazy year.
Some people suspect that to get a vaccine quickly, you haven't been thorough enough.
I haven't seen any evidence of this.
The data we have shows that vaccination is safe and effective.
Hopefully, the benefits of the vaccine will help contain the pandemic.
I think that outweighs any theoretical risk that comes with it.
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WORLD:
This vaccine was developed by two companies, Pfizer and Biontech, in the US and Germany ...
Sellers:
This is a wonderful example of what can happen when individuals, and in this case companies, work together for the common good, even when it comes to profit.
It's really amazing when you consider that we had never heard of this virus 13 or 14 months ago and now we are giving the vaccine across the board.
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WORLD:
The EU has not yet approved the vaccine.
Can you understand that many Europeans are now impatient?
Sellers:
I certainly understand the impatience of Europeans.
Many people are impatient here too.
But we have to try to see it in perspective.
The pandemic has been going on for a year now.
We want to act quickly, but the processes take some time.
WORLD:
What do you think of it when people without masks gather now to celebrate parties?
Sellers:
That's unfortunate.
Our hospitals are overcrowded, we work hard.
And we ask people, even if they have been vaccinated: keep wearing a mask and keep physical distance.
Just try to be wise.
Hopefully the end of the pandemic is in sight, but we're not there yet.
Getting the vaccination yesterday, today, or next week is not helping to break the current wave.
We should be sensible and careful.