I took it as an opportunity Navajo Nation healthcare worker speaks out after getting COVID-19 vaccine Updated: 7:33 AM MST Dec 18, 2020 Marissa Armas Share Updated: 7:33 AM MST Dec 18, 2020
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Show Transcript EXPERIENCE WAS LIKE FOR HIM AND WHAT HIS ADVICE IS FOR THE PEOPLE WHO GET IT NEXT. REPORTER: IN MANY COMMUNITIES, THERE IS A LOT OF SKEPTICISM ON WHETHER TO TAKE THIS NEW VACCINE BECAUSE OF HISTORIC TRAUMA THEY EXPERIENCED. ROLAND BEGAY WHO’S A FRONTLINE WORKER SAYS AFTER WHAT HE’S SEEN THIS VIRUS DO, THIS DECISION WAS AN EASY CHOICE TO MAKE. HE BECAME ONE OF THE FIRST ON THE NAVAJO NATION TO GET THE COVID-19 VACCINE. I HAD TO GO WITH MY HEART. WHAT I THINK AND HOW I THINK. WHAT ARE MY PRIORITIES? AND THERE IS A LOT OF FEAR O THIS VIRUS OUT THERE. REPORTER: BEGAY SAYS TAKING THE FDA APPROVED PFIZER VACCINE WAS THE BEST CHOICE FOR HIM AND HIS FAMILY. THIS ALSO GETS HIM A STEP CLOSER TO BEING ABLE TO PRACTICE HIS SP
Healthcare workers were among the first to receive the COVID-19 vaccine on the Navajo Nation.
A healthcare worker at the Chinle Comprehensive Health Care Facility was the first person to receive the Pfizer vaccine on the Navajo Nation. The tribe received close to 4,000 doses by Tuesday delivered to medical centers in Chinle, Kayenta and Tuba City among others. KNAU’s Angela Gervasi reports:
Navajo Nation officials say the vaccination plan will prioritize healthcare workers and residents of long-term assisted living facilities. Native Medicine Coordinator Roland Begay was the first to receive an initial dose of the vaccine on Monday. When asked if he was willing to receive the vaccine, Begay said he agreed to do so.
First COVID-19 vaccine administered to health care worker on Navajo Nation
Posted: Tuesday, December 15, 2020 Roland Begay, a health care professional on the Navajo Nation, was the first person to receive the COVID-19 vaccine on the largest reservation in the United States.
Begay, a Navajo citizen, serves as a coordinator at the Chinle Comprehensive Health Care Facility in Chinle, Arizona. He was the first to receive vaccine at the facility on December 14, 2020.
The Navajo Area of the Indian Health Service has been allocated 3,900 doses of a newly-approved COVID-19 vaccine. These initial doses are being reserved for health care professionals like Begay and for residents of long-term care facilities, especially elders.