HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — Employees and residents at the Floyd E. 'Tutt' Fann State Veterans Home in Huntsville will receive the COVID-19 vaccine on December 31.
They are one of the four state veterans homes receiving Pfizer vaccine doses.
On December 29, the vaccine was administered to residents and staff at the Bill Nichols State Veterans Home in Alexander City.
Kent Davis, the commissioner of the Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs, compared getting the COVID vaccine to getting the flu shot.
He also says that the homes receiving these vaccines is a milestone event.
"We have to practice social isolation as they come in, so they come in to separate stations, three at a time, with masks, and Walgreens personnel administer the vaccine to them. Then they wait, they hold them for 15 minutes, just for observation, to make sure there's no side effects or anything like that," said Davis.
Residents and staff at the veteran homes are not required to get the vaccine but it is strongly encouraged.