Health workers at the Holyoke Soldier House fired their first shot at Robert Aucoin, a 78-year-old Air Force veteran, according to a statement from the Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS). Aucoin, who served from 1961 to 1965 as a control tower operator at the Pope’s Air Force Base in North Carolina, has lived at the Holyoke Veterans House since April 2018.
With a blue Snoopy mask on his nose, mouth, and part of his long white beard, he was given a shot at the Holyoke home through a federal long-term cooperation program with CVS and Walgreens.
“I am very happy to receive the vaccine. My wish is that everyone in the world can receive the vaccine,” he said in a statement.
Another Chelsea, Massachusetts, house of soldiers administered its first vaccine to Dominic Pitella, a 94-year-old man who has lived there since April 2018. Pitella, chief of the U.S. Army Air Corps , was a cook in the 559th Air Service. Group and served in the Pacific Theater during World War II, according to the EOHHS.
“I hope this helps everyone,” Pitella said.
Gov. Charlie Baker praised the vaccinations in a hopeful statement of the best things to come.
“Managing vaccines to our front-line health workers and now some of our most vulnerable residents in the soldiers’ home provides relief and we hope there are brighter days ahead for everyone, ”he said in a statement.
“We are thrilled to begin providing the first dose to the amazing men and women living at the Holyoke and Chelsea facilities to offer more protection against Covid-19 and we remain grateful to the dedicated staff who work tirelessly to keep our veterans safe and healthy during the pandemic “.
Vaccines are a return to the situation of one of the worst outbreaks of coronavirus in the spring. At least 94 veterans were killed, including at least 76 who tested positive at Covid-19 at the Holyoke Retirement Home, about 90 miles west of Boston, prompting state and federal investigations and charges against two. home supervisors.
Two nursing home officials face charges
The 174-page state investigation into the outbreak described a number of errors committed at home, including delays in testing, delays in closing common areas, inadequate personal protective equipment and a general lack of compassion for veterans.
The most significant mistake occurred on March 27, when the leadership decided to move two veteran units into one, combining some that had tested positive on Covid-19 with those that showed no sign of it. According to staff and union accounts shared with CNN, the home dealt for years with systemic issues such as staff shortages.
A grand jury charged two home officials in September “for causing or allowing serious injury or negligence to an elderly person during the Covid-19 outbreak,” Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey said.
Former Superintendent Bennett Walsh, 50, and former Medical Director David Clinton, 71, face ten offenses. According to CNN affiliate WCVB, they pleaded not guilty to the charges in November.
The CDC has recommended that front-line health workers and those in nursing homes be the first to receive coronavirus vaccines, which have been shown to be effective in limiting severe Covid-19 disease. According to the CDC, about 60% of coronavirus deaths in the United States have been in people over 75 years of age.
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