The doctor said he knew he looked like an idiot, standing outside his office holding a handmade sign announcing a âCOVID-19 vaccine.â
But ever since Dr. Rosier Dedwylderâs practice in Dahlgren started administering the vaccineâ50 shots every Monday from March 22 onâhe and his staff made sure every dose landed in an arm.
Then last week, someone canceled late in the day, and the staff scrambled to find a replacement. Dedwylder sees patients, not only from King George and neighboring Caroline and Westmoreland counties, but also those over the bridge in southern Maryland.
The notion of one dose going to waste struck the medical team particularly hard, especially with the news coming out of India. People were dying outside hospitals because oxygen wasnât available, and there were horrible photos of multiple victims of the virus being burned on funeral pyres. COVID-19 has claimed more than 3,000 victims there each day for the last week.
Fredericksburg-area health officials continue vaccine outreach to elderly, special populations fredericksburg.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from fredericksburg.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Every time Susan Rouse tried to register online for the COVID-19 vaccine, she never got to the right spot.
âI did exactly as I was told, but I just couldnât seem to connect to the right place. Everywhere I went, it started telling me all about the vaccine but not how to register for it,â said the 80-year-old, who then laughed and said: âI think itâs probably the computer user who has the problem.â
Rouse, who lives in Spotsylvania County, shared her story with others during a virtual Sunday school class at Fredericksburg United Methodist Church. The next thing she knew, she was partnered with a Vaccine Buddy as part of the churchâs program to help local seniors navigate the vaccine registration process.