Steve Harasym was the first resident at Villa St. Gabriel Villa (VSGV) to receive his first dose of the Moderna vaccine today.**
Harasym has lived at the Chelmsford long-term care centre since it opened in 2011. When asked how it felt to be the first resident to get the vaccine, he said, "It felt really good."
On Feb. 6, 110 residents at St. Gabriel chose to receive their first dose of the vaccine. The LTC centre is a 128-bed facility.
"Today has been a long time coming and gives us some hope for the future," administrator Jo-Anne Palkovits said in a press release. "I am truly grateful to all of our rock star staff members who have been working full out during the pandemic."
Palkovits also thanked Public Health Sudbury & Districts staff for delivering the vaccine and assisting in administering it. She also thanked upper levels of government for "working diligently in sourcing out the vaccine to ensure that our frail elderly are the first to be inoculated”.
Last week, 54 residents at St. Joseph’s Villa in Sudbury received their first dose of the Moderna vaccine. The remaining 58 residents also received their vaccines on Feb. 6.
**An earlier version of this story included an error. Mr. Harasym's name was written as "Harrison" as that is the information that was provided by the LTC facility. Sudbury.com corrected the error when we were notified.
