Burlington Begins Vaccinating First Responders

BURLINGTON, MA — Burlington began vaccinating first responders Tuesday at the Human Services Building.

The first shot was administered at 9 a.m., the fire department said, and Fire Chief Michael Patterson was one of the first to receive the vaccine.

"It was a pretty exciting moment — the past 10-11 months of dealing with this virus have certainly been a challenge," Patterson said. "I certainly was pretty excited to receive it today. I'm more excited that my firefighters are going to get the opportunity to receive this vaccine as well."

Patterson explained that first responders are regularly going on calls at the homes of coronavirus patients and interacting with people who may have the virus — "sticking their head in the car of a potential COVID-19 patient at a motor vehicle accident."

Around 50 first responders got their first shots Tuesday, the chief said.

Health Director Susan Lumenello applied to have her staff administer vaccinations and scheduled the vaccines, Patterson said.

So far, about 85 percent of the fire department have signed up to get vaccinated, Patterson said. Both the chief and the union leadership urged the members to get the vaccine.

The department has taken a lot of precautions including masks and social distancing, Patterson said, but over the course of the pandemic, a number of Burlington firefighters have tested positive or had to quarantine due to close contacts with people with the virus.

"We're hoping that once more people that get the vaccine, hopefully with good weather coming in the spring, the numbers reduce," Patterson said. "Hopefully this is the beginning of the end of this virus. I'm looking forward to the day that this isn't going to be the primary subject."

First responder vaccinations began across the state Monday. Burlington clinics are scheduled for Jan. 12, 14, 19 and 21 at the Human Services Building.

Only first responders working in Burlington are eligible to get vaccinated at the town's clinics.

Christopher Huffaker can be reached at 412-265-8353 or chris.huffaker@patch.com.