On January 3, 2021, TVF&R started vaccinating their front line personnel. Vaccinations of several hundred firefighters and paramedics will continue throughout the week. In partnership with county health partners, TVF&R will move on to vaccinate partners such as law enforcement officers and other essential city and county workers in coming weeks and months.

Paramedic Megan Rye was TVF&R’s first vaccine recipient. She’s been a paramedic since 2007 and joined TVF&R in 2017: “I feel great. I’m excited for the opportunity to get it and excited to start protecting our residents. It just provides everyone a little bit of hope in a time that’s not the greatest. I think it will give me a little more confidence when treating patients.”

Paramedic Jesse Gonzalez also feels relieved to be vaccinated, but he’s not letting his guard down: “Having some assurance that we’re protected is a huge deal for us and the community, but we’re still wearing masks inside the stations. We keep six feet of distance and are taking every precaution as if we didn’t have the vaccine.”

Fire Chief Deric Weiss was present to celebrate the vaccination kickoff: “This is a long time coming. For me to see the first few people go through, it’s a culmination of all the hard work by the men & women across the organization. They’re excited and they’re encouraged about the future now. There’s a lot of work ahead, but today’s a good day.”