By Mindy Lucas

Doug Rhodin removed his crisp white collared shirt, loosened his tie, then rolled up the sleeve of his undershirt.

“I’m ready,” he joked with nurse practitioner Jaime Cuff, <em>after</em> she had given him his vaccination.

But this wasn’t just any vaccination. This was the COVID-19 shot.

As Director of Safety and Security for Beaufort Memorial Hospital, Rhodin was among the first of the hospital’s frontline workers to receive the Pfizer-BioNtech COVID-19 vaccination after the hospital received its first shipment on Sunday.

The hospital began the process of inoculating staff and medical workers at its on-campus vaccine clinic beginning at 8 a.m. on Monday.

Those same employees will return for a second dose being held in reserve by the CDC, in roughly 21 – 28 days.

Rhodin, who interacts with patients, often up close, said he was a little nervous Sunday night, but when he woke up Monday morning he was feeling good.

“I said my little prayer, …prayed on it and said …‘I’m going to go forth and do it’,” he said. “Hopefully other people will follow.”

<em>Read the full story online later this week and on newsstands Thursday.</em>

[caption id="attachment_47468" align="aligncenter" width="827"]<a href="https://actionclub.site/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Erin_Wornall2-1.jpeg"><img class="size-large wp-image-47468" src="https://staging.yourislandnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Erin_Wornall2-827x1024.jpeg" alt="Beaufort Memorial Pharmacist Erin Wornall &quot;pulls doses&quot; of the COVID-19 vaccination from vials and prepares the shots Monday, Dec. 21. Photo by Mindy Lucas" width="827" height="1024"></a> Beaufort Memorial Pharmacist Erin Wornall "pulls doses" of the COVID-19 vaccination from vials and prepares the shots Monday, Dec. 21. Photo by Mindy Lucas[/caption]