Ferris fire fighters first in Ellis County to get vaccine

FERRIS – It is fortunate for the City of Ferris firefighters that it has a partnership with Careflite.

Thanks to that partnership, Careflite offered the firefighters the recently made available Moderna COVID-19 vaccine.

According to Ferris City Manager Brooks Williams, all the fire fighter/FROs in the city were offered the vaccine. The Ferris firefighters are also the first in Ellis County to receive the vaccine.

“The Fire Chief, Brian Horton, and the CareFlite Ground Division coordinated – and CareFlite graciously offered to provide the vaccine,” Williams said. 

“The earlier the vaccine is administered, the sooner we can get them to a second dose – and the sooner we can begin to reduce their risk of contracting the virus.” 

Ellis County Judge Todd Little issued a press release Monday stating for the moment, it might just be those on the front line receiving the vaccine.

“At this time, DSHS (Texas Department of State Health Services) has communicated to local officials they currently do not have a public vaccination distribution plan – meaning there is currently not a public COVID-19 registration process available,” the press release noted. 

“The current mechanism for vaccine distribution is for pharmacies, doctors, long term care facilities and first responders.”

Texas’ DSHS vaccine allocation guiding principles will allocate COVID-19 vaccines that are in limited supply based on:

• Protecting health care workers who fill a critical role in caring for and preserving the lives of COVID-19 patients, and maintaining the health care infrastructure for all who need it;  

• Protecting front-line workers who are at greater risk of contracting COVID-19 due to the nature of their work providing critical services and preserving the economy;

• The protection of vulnerable populations at greater risk of severe disease and death if they contract COVID-19.

In Ferris, Williams said the police department anticipates receiving the vaccine through the Ellis County Emergency Management Office and Methodist Health System next week. 

“With what is asked of first responders, I think it is important that they have the availability of this vaccine,” said Ferris Fire Chief Brian Horton. 

“It is important to me that they have that layer of protection. We are grateful for the partnership with CareFlite – and for them affording us this opportunity.”

Little’s office also noted Ellis County providers have received limited shipments of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccinations, not Pfizer due to logistics of the ultra-cold storage.

“Our first responders deserve to have the protection of the vaccine, and we are extremely grateful to the CareFlite organization,” Williams concluded. 

“I have reached out to Jim Swartz, the CEO of CareFlite, to extend our deepest thanks for their efforts to protect our FROs. This represents a step towards COVID-19 becoming more controlled – and us returning to some sense of normalcy. 

“Absolutely proud to be a part of the City of Ferris, who is putting their first responders – first.”