KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. – An initial shipment of the COVID-19 vaccine was administered to 100 members of the Oregon National Guard at Kingsley Field by the 173rd Medical Group Feb. 10 and 12.

A call for volunteers went out on the morning of Feb. 9.

“I feel like we went into it not having many appointments being scheduled at first, and then it was a massive influx of people, and now we have a waiting list of members wanting to receive it,” said 1st Lt. Jaime Nealy, a nurse with the 173rd MDG.

Nealy and Tech. Sgt. Brandy Halvorsen and Staff Sgt. Matthew Hartwig, 173rd MDG aerospace medical technicians, administered the vaccine. “It has been an amazing experience to help the base press forward,” said Nealy.

One of the first volunteers to be vaccinated was Col. Jeff Edwards, 173rd Fighter Wing commander.

“I got vaccinated because I believe it’s the right thing to do,” said Edwards. “I believe it will make a difference for our country, for our military to get vaccinated, and I believe in the science and research behind it.”

Edwards encouraged all of his Airmen who have questions about the vaccine to view a Q-and-A video put together with the help of the 173rd Medical Group.

“It’s an outstanding video that really captures the essence of the science behind it as well as the risk factors,” said Edwards. “I believe it is important for everyone to know that the vaccine has been tested and to understand the percentage of adverse reactions is very, very low overall. The benefits, in my personal opinion, greatly outweigh the small risks associated with that.”

Edwards said the vaccine ensures mission readiness. “Our duty as a military is to be ready to serve our country and to serve our nation,” said Edwards. “It is going to help our readiness, and it is going to help our communities.”

The Medical Group is unsure when more vaccine doses will arrive.

“We haven’t received word yet,” said Nealy. “We only found out about this set of vaccine four days ahead of time. But we do know that when they are sending out the first dose that they are planning on giving us the second dose when it is due.”