PORTSMOUTH, Va. - The first and finest at Naval Medical Center Portsmouth received some of the first COVID-19 vaccines on Wednesday.
"It was great, not painful at all," said Meghan Harring, an OB/GYN resident.
It took less than a minute for Harring to receive the vaccine.
The military treatment facility received thousands of units of the Pfizer vaccine on Monday, to be first given to front line healthcare workers.
"This feels really good, because I've been one of the doctors treating patients in the hospital and this is finally the light at the end of the tunnel we've been looking for," said Dr. Karl Kronmann, an infectious disease specialist.
The Department of Defense will administer 50 vaccines a day in its first phase. The vaccine is required at day 1 and then again at day 21.
The DOD says they will get their second delivery of vaccines before the end of the year.
"It's a lot safer then getting COVID," said one doctor who received the vaccine.
These healthcare workers say it gives them peace of mind as they work to treat those who have the virus.
"I feel pretty lucky honestly, I know there are a lot of people out there who want this vaccine," Harring said.
DOD-chosen locations for rollout of the vaccine besides Naval Medical Center Portsmouth include Naval Branch Health Clinic Jacksonville and Naval Hospital Pensacola.
