Fighting the war on COVID-19: Disabled veterans get vaccinated in Fort Pierce

FORT PIERCE, Fla. (CBS12) — On a cloudy Wednesday morning with spotty showers, a "ray of sunshine" came in the form of a much-anticipated coronavirus vaccine clinic.

"I have been looking forward to this day," said Gary Manigell, a 62-year-old military veteran who traveled to the Blackburn Educational Building in Fort Pierce for his first dose of a coronavirus vaccine. "I'm hoping to get over this and go on with my life."

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Manigell, who enlisted in the Army at the age of 18 and was stationed in Berlin, Germany, for two and a half years, is now a grandfather. He said the last time he has seen his grandchildren were about three months ago.

"It was very, very different and very, very uncomfortable," Manigell said. "I'm used to hugging my grandkids. It's very sad. It's very sad."

High-risk veterans, many of whom were minorities in the St. Lucie County area, were offered a COVID-19 vaccine through the Veterans Affairs on March 3.

" The faster I get it, the faster I will be more safe," said SeaBron Johnson Jr., of Port St. Lucie. He's disabled and at-risk of the contagious coronavirus. Johnson told CBS12 News he was injured during combat in the Army.

He said he was medically discharged after serving in the Gulf War.

According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, older Black veterans are taking the COVID-19 vaccine through its medical system at a higher rate than white and Hispanic veterans in the same age group. Officials said this data is a result of early outreach efforts that focused on minority veterans.

Thirty-four percent of Black veterans age 75 and older who use the VA medical system have received the vaccine. That is higher than the 29 percent of white veterans and 31 percent of Hispanic veterans in that age category, according to data provided to the Veterans Health Administration.

Because the vaccine is still in emergency use authorization status, the Department of Defense has not made it mandatory for service members.