First Responders Get Second Dose of COVID-19 Vaccine
This week marked a significant milestone for nearly 1,000 first responders in western Hennepin County who are getting their second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
“It feels good, but at the end of the day we’re still very early in the process,” said Greg Petersen, a firefighter with the Dayton Fire Department. “I’m hoping over the next couple months, this will become more available to folks just walking across the street here and all these kids here going in and out of the school. So I feel lucky and fortunate, but at the same time my life probably won’t change that much.”
Petersen was one of hundreds to receive the second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at Wayzata High School this week.
Greg Petersen of the Dayton Fire Dept. received his second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Roughly 70 percent of first responders from 43 different police and fire departments in the area received their second shot of the Moderna vaccine at this site over the past two weeks, courtesy of Hennepin County Public Health.
The vaccine is a big first step forward for departments looking to resume normal activities and services that allow for more face-to-face interaction.
Yet unlike the first dose, this booster shot packs more of a punch.
“Me personally, about 14 hours after receiving my second dose, I received some chills, so a slight fever and a bit of a headache, and some muscle aches,” said Plymouth Police Chief Erik Fadden. “As quickly as it came on, it disappeared six-to-eight hours later. And I was still able to go to work the next day and was symptom-free.”
As of Thursday afternoon, the Minnesota Department of Health reports that 128,694 Minnesotans had received both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.
