A Second Dose of COVID-19 Vaccine for At-Risk Community Members

Vaccine distribution continues to be a challenge we’re all facing together in health care and with our community partners. Today, friends and family of SVMC employees returned to receive their second dose of the Moderna vaccine. Many of the 80 individuals returning are 65 years of age or older and the vaccine represents an added layer of protection against COVID. They were first vaccinated in February following guidelines from Tulare County.

Sally Garza has helped the SVMC Employee Health Department administer more than 1,000 COVID-19 vaccines at the hospital since December of last year. “It’s a pleasure to help bring the pandemic to an end and to protect our community through vaccination,” says Sally. “It’s a light at the end of the tunnel.”

And it’s also a ray of light for Traci Follett, Director Clinical Informatics, Education and ACS, who again accompanied her grandmother, Lois Hardt. Just as for other SVMC employees accompanying loved ones today, the second dose spells relief. “I’m glad that she’s now essentially fully covered with getting both doses of the vaccine. She is safer,” says Traci.

To learn more about COVID-19 vaccines, visit: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/index.html. For the latest information about vaccination in Tulare County, we recommend following their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/TulareCountyHHSA.