She also became the first person in the entire city of Houston to receive her. In a room full of cameras, a visibly emotional Robert Luckey received his dose Tuesday morning.
Luckey’s vaccination was very satisfying, the room erupted in applause.
“How do you feel?” asked a journalist.
“I feel lucky,” Luckey said. “I feel very fortunate to have been the first person to actually receive the vaccine, given how many people have been affected by [COVID-19] to himself. I just feel proud, ”he said.
Luckey was once a U.S. sailor until he chose to pursue a career in health. After his military stint, he returned to school and became a registered nurse. He has been at Hermann Memorial Hospital for nearly four years and has been working in his COVID-19 unit since the start of the pandemic, caring for about 38 patients who are currently battling the virus.
“I think during this time, not only the patients we need to comfort are in our care, but the family members because they can’t come in and visit their relatives,” he said. “You’re actually taking care of the whole family in a way.”
Luckey said that while there is speculation surrounding the development of the vaccine, he said he wanted to take the vaccine on his own.
He called it both rewarding and trying.
“I think that’s honestly like the light at the end of the tunnel for a lot of people, myself included. It’s just an opportunity we can start moving forward because, before that, you’re taking care of patients, you’re comforting the patients, but at this point, I think with the vaccine, this is really the first light we see, “Luckey.
According to state health leaders, health care providers or workers at medical facilities, along with residents and nursing home staff, will be the first to receive the vaccine. Officials say the focus is on facilities that indicate they will vaccinate at least 975 front-line health workers, as this is the minimum order for the Pfizer vaccine.
Additional shipments are expected to occur later in the week. In total, 224,250 vaccine doses were assigned to Texas to be delivered to 110 suppliers statewide in week 1 of distribution.
The Food and Drug Administration authorized the emergency use of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine on Friday, December 11th. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention then accepted a recommendation from an advisory committee to distribute doses to people 16 years of age or older.
Reception of the COVID-19 vaccine is voluntary. However, experts say between 60 and 80 percent of the population should be vaccinated to end the pandemic.
Throughout this week, ABC13 spends half an hour offering you the latest daily developments on vaccine distribution in the area. ACTION 13: THE VACCINE ACCOUNT is daily this week at 6:30 pm right here on ABC13. You can play it for free on demand and without subscribing to your favorite streaming devices, including Roku and Fire TV. Just look for the free ABC13 Houston app.
Watch live news and in-depth reports from ABC13 on your favorite streaming devices, such as Roku, FireTV, AppleTV, and AndroidTV. Just search for “ABC13 Houston”.
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