Ramping up the effort to get more people vaccinated more quickly will depend on people like Amanda Foote. A pharmacist by training, she spent a recent day off at the Topsfield Fairgrounds administering a second dose of COVID vaccines to first responders.
“It's hard to sit back on the sidelines,” Foote said. “It just felt like this — it was something I could actually do to get out there and help. It felt right.”
She's part of the all-volunteer Medical Reserve Corp set up by the federal government in the wake of 9/11 so that every state would have medical and non-medical volunteers ready for any emergency. In his recently released COVID-19 response strategy, President Joe Biden called for the corps to expand the already critical role it's playing in vaccine distribution.
Thousands of MRC volunteers already staff vaccine clinics across the country, and more are expected to meet the growing demand for their services.
“The enthusiasm is unparalleled. We don't see anything like it," Topsfield Public Health Director Wendy Hansbury said. “We're in extraordinary times, and extraordinary people are stepping up to fill that role.”
To see the full story click the video player above.
