‘I’m very confident in this vaccine’: Dublin VA director reacts to vaccine

DUBLIN, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) — The first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine arrived at Georgia nursing homes and senior living facilities last week.

Tuesday, 41NBC Jatrissa Wooten spoke to the Carl Vinson VA Medical Center on how things are coming now that the vaccine has been administered.

“We received our vaccine last week and we started immediately,” said David Whitmer, Director of Carl Vinson VA Medical Center.

The first people on the list were Dublin VA’s healthcare workers. The second were residents in the center’s community living center.

Whitmer says staff administered COVID-19 vaccinations on Christmas Day. Afterward, staff members monitored the patients for 15-30 minutes.

“So far, it’s been fine. We’ve had no adverse events at all,” Whitmer said.

Whitmer says getting a COVID-19-vaccination shot feels like the flu shot. It does leave some soreness in the arm. 

However, he says, once you get the vaccine, you must get an additional booster shot 28 days later. 

“When you see the coronavirus, the crowns that are on there the mRNA vaccine attacks those particular crowns and trains the body’s immune system to attack and defend that virus,” Whitmer said. 

Over 80 percent of the VA’s residents say they want to get vaccinated. This includes 96-year-old World War II veteran and former Dublin Mayor Dr. Lester Porter.

“I haven’t been afraid of dying every day,” Mr. Porter. “I didn’t want to get sick and die.”

Whitmer says some of the center’s African American population have shown hesitance toward receiving the vaccine. He also says it’s for good reason. 

Whitmer says African Americans have been subjected to unethical medical experiments in our nation’s history. For this reason, the Dublin VA is stepping up to ensure the safety of all staff and residents. 

“I feel very confident in this vaccine,” Whitmer said. “I will be taking the vaccine later this week.”

He says they received the Moderna vaccination because it’s easier to store and transport to rural area centers.