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Howard Berkes is a participant in the Moderna vaccine trial in Utah. Right now, COVID-19 vaccines are in their first phase of distribution in the state.
Right now, the COVID-19 vaccine is being given to healthcare workers throughout the state. But there are a few other Utahns who have participated in vaccine trials, meaning they either got the vaccine or a placebo. Retired NPR investigative reporter Howard Berkes was part of the Moderna trial here in Utah.
Caroline Ballard: What was your thought process like when it came to participating in Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine trial?
Howard Berkes: [When I spoke to researchers,] they said given my age and my relative health, that I d be perfect for the trial, and I signed up right away. I believe I was the first person to sign up for the trial in Utah. My wife also signed up and we were participants number two and three in terms of actually getting the shots.
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Nurse manager Tessa Vasquez received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine administered at Heber Valley Hospital on Wednesday.
Hospital employees in Heber City and Park City became the first rural healthcare workers to be vaccinated against COVID-19, according to a statement Intermountain Healthcare released Wednesday.
Nurse manager Tessa Vasquez of Heber Valley Hospital was the first healthcare worker at either facility to receive the drug. She said the vaccine is critical not only for hospital employees and their families but also for the communities they serve.
“It helps [healthcare workers] to be able to be here and not miss work because of being sick so that we have enough people to care for the community when they need it,” she said.