First Selectman Dr. David Bindelglass and his wife, Gloria, are doing their part to crush the coronavirus.
The couple, who are frontline medical professionals, received the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine on Tuesday. They both work at Bridgeport Hospital, part of the Yale-New Haven Health System. Employees and community doctors in the Y-NH system started receiving injections this week.
In addition to serving as Easton’s first selectman, Dr. Bindelglass is an orthopedic surgeon. Gloria is an emergency room nurse and educator who has been called into service in the intensive care unit since the pandemic surged in Connecticut, beginning in March.
“All either of us had was a little soreness in the arm, like a medium bruise,” Dr. Bindelglass, 61, said. “We both woke up [Wednesday] morning, feeling absolutely fine.”
Working in a front-line role in treating Covid-19 patients as she does, Gloria, of course, follows all hospital protocols. This includes wearing personal protective equipment, frequently washing her hands, and socially distancing as much as possible while treating patients. Additionally, Gloria removes her hospital clothes as soon as she walks in the door after work and throws them into the washer, Dave said.
More details still have to be worked out as far the rollout to the Easton community, but local first responders will receive their first injections next week through the Westport Weston Health District. They will sign up for appointments at the beginning of next week, Dr. Bindelglass said. “The health district has done a great job, and I expect it to go smoothly.”
“Everybody should get vaccinated,” he said. “When it becomes available to whatever group you’re in, you should get the vaccine and have no qualms. I hope we get it through as much of the town as quickly as we can.”
The federal and state government have designated when particular groups will receive the vaccine, based on risk. Considering the challenge of such a massive rollout, Dr. Bindelglass said, “I think it’s gone surprisingly well. It’s pretty remarkable that a million people in the country have already been vaccinated. “
Watch Gov. Ned Lamont’s update on Connecticut’s Coronavirus Response Efforts here. The vaccine rollout in Connecticut is expected to take place from January through May, based on people’s risk and age. Read more information about Covid-19 here.
Federal and state public health officials strongly advise everyone to stay home, limit gatherings to their household and not to travel for the holidays. Everyone should also continue to wear a mask, wash their hands frequently and socially distance.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Emergency Use Authorizations (EUA) for two Covid-19 vaccines, Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, which have been shown to be safe and effective as determined by data from the manufacturers and findings from large clinical trials.
“I’m happy to have been able to participate and will take it from there,” Dr. Bindelglass said. “I still wear a mask and social distance. It’s not a get-out-of-jail-free card. In 21 days we will get the second dose “
