’Trust the science:’ DeKalb firefighters receive COVID-19 vaccine Thursday

DeKALB – Nearly a year after the novel coronavirus started to ravage DeKalb County, local emergency medical technicians said they wanted to be part of the solution in staving off COVID-19 illness in the community.

Adam Miller, a paramedic with the DeKalb Fire Department, said getting the first of two doses of the Moderna vaccine from DeKalb County health officials Thursday was easier and less painful than getting a tetanus shot. He said he understands some people were skeptical of the vaccine’s effectiveness and wanted more information.

“It just came down to, for me, that if you want things to go back to normal and we want to live up to our motto to serve and protect people, this is just the first step in doing this correctly,” Miller said.

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Adam Miller, a City of DeKalb firefighter/paramedic, receives an injection of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine from DeKalb County Health Department public health nurse Alex Diehl Thursday in DeKalb. (Mark Busch/Mark Busch - mbusch@shawmedia.co)

Thursday’s vaccination session included firefighters from the DeKalb Fire Department, all of whom are simultaneously certified EMT/paramedics. The Moderna COVID-19 vaccine is given in two doses, one month a part.

DeKalb Fire Chief Jeff McMaster said the entire world had no idea how to handle the COVID-19 pandemic at first. While everyone was trying to figure out what was going on early in 2020, he said, city firefighters meanwhile faced shortages in personal protective equipment and wore N95 masks and gowns – especially in dealing with crowds.

“When you take all of this and you figure out how much we have learned in the last year, this is another tool that the fire department has received to help provide service to the community,” McMaster said.

McMaster said most of the city’s firefighters have elected to receive the vaccine and even welcomed it. He said that, even though firefighters are still going to take precautions and continue to use PPE while responding to calls until most groups are vaccinated, he thinks it’s going to have a positive effect on how fire officials continue to serve the community.

“Through this entire year of unknowns, this is what you can trust the most,” McMaster said.

Vaccine distribution in DeKalb County is still in its first phase, 1A. DeKalb County received its first shipments of the COVID-19 vaccine Tuesday, Dec. 29. The initial shipment of 800 doses was used to provide vaccines to local hospital healthcare personnel, including Northwestern Medicine Kishwaukee Hospital in DeKalb and Northwestern Medicine Valley West Hospital in Sandwich.

COVID-19 Vaccine Phase 1A includes healthcare personnel and critical populations, including hospital and long-term care facility staff, health department staff, emergency medical services, home-health personnel, pharmacy staff and other medical and health care workers. It is anticipated that it will take a few months to complete vaccination efforts in Phase 1A.

Don Faulhaber, battalion chief for the fire department, said he has an elderly mother that he’s not been able to see as much since the pandemic hit. He said he thinks getting vaccinated will help bring more comfort for him personally.

“I’ll still wear my mask and I’ll still keep my distance from her,” Faulhaber said. “But I think that maybe our visits will become more frequent after that.”

The next phase, COVID-19 Vaccine Phase 1B, allows vaccinations to be received by a myriad of trades and workers, including: first responders, daycare workers, corrections officers, food and agriculture workers, postal service workers, manufacturing workers, grocery store workers, public transit workers, educators – including teachers and support staff – and people age 65 and older.

Although some patients may have adverse side effects like with any vaccine, McMaster said that, now that more people in the community will see the COVID-19 vaccine is safe, he believes more people are going to step up and receive it.

“You gotta trust the science and trust the health department,” McMaster said.

• Daily Chronicle reporter Katrina J.E. Milton contributed to this report.