December 28th, 2020
Monroe County Executive Adam Bello today announced that Monroe County is beginning to vaccinate nearly 2,000 EMS workers from 19 agencies across Monroe County. The Monroe County Department of Public Health and the Monroe County Department of Public Safety are collaborating to administer the vaccinations at the County’s Fleet Center.
EMS personnel are the latest sector of Tier 1 to receive the COVID-19 vaccine in what will likely be a several months-long process. Vaccinations of frontline hospital staff began two weeks ago, and vaccination of nursing home staff and residents started last week.
“Our EMS personnel have been on the frontlines throughout the COVID-19 crisis, playing a pivotal role in maintaining the public health of our community and ensuring the safety of our residents. Protecting our first responders from transmission of the virus is critically important, especially as we continue to see a surge in COVID-19 cases in our area. I’m pleased to see that our EMTs and other emergency personnel are among the first to receive this historic vaccine,” said County Executive Adam Bello.
Initially, EMS workers were to obtain the vaccine at local hospitals in mid-January. To speed up the vaccination process, Monroe County worked with the University of Rochester Medical Center and Rochester Regional Health to have the vaccines delivered to the County facility, where refrigerators and freezers were installed to store it. Nurses from the Department of Public Health are administering the vaccine.
“With the vaccine available in our community, we saw no reason to delay distribution. EMS workers are on the frontlines every day. By vaccinating them as quickly as possible, we protect them and their families while ensuring they can continue to respond to critical calls for help,” said Dr. Michael Mendoza, Monroe County Public Health Commissioner.
The vaccination clinic at the Fleet Center is expected to remain in operation for months to come as other emergency workers, including fire, 911 and law enforcement personnel become eligible for the vaccine.
