Ex-POWs the first vets to get COVID vaccine at Alabama VA hospital

Birmingham, Alabama — Three former prisoners of war were the first veterans to get injections of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at the Birmingham VA Medical Center Tuesday, reports the CBS affiliate in the city, WIAT-TV. The station says Newton Duke, Norman Hale and Lee Creel are the only three ex-POWs living in the Birmingham area.

“If there’s a hell on Earth, I was there,” Duke said as he recalled serving during the Korean War. He was held captive in a Chinese prison camp for 27 months.

Duke said although 2020 has been a difficult year, it’s been nothing compared to the horrors he and other veterans have seen.

“These aren’t bad times like war times,” Duke said. “War times (are) just unexplainable.”

Duke said the VA hospital reached out to him Monday to offering him Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine. “Got to have somebody first, might as well be me!” he exclaimed.

When he received the vaccine, he said it didn’t hurt and felt similar to a flu shot.

Duke is encouraging others to get one too, in hopes of getting back to the regular outings he misses. “Come one! Let’s get this thing going. Get all this stuff so we can get back to our lives,” he said.

The VA decided to give the very first doses to war heroes as a small thank you for all the sacrifices they made.

The hospital’s chief of staff, Dr. Ladi Kukoyi, said no one was more deserving than the men who got their shots Tuesday.

“There is no more noble mission than taking care of our veterans who sacrifice everything and POW are at the top of that list because they’ve actually borne a burden that most of us will never imagine in the comfort of our home,” Kukoyi said.

Hale, another Korean War veteran, humbly said he thought someone else should get the shot ahead of him. He said his wife was worried, but he felt confident in science.

“I think it’ll go well,” Hale said. “I wouldn’t take it if I didn’t think that.”

Creel, a WWII veteran, was surprised at how quickly he was contacted to get the vaccine. While getting his injection, he joked about getting to venture out of the house in the months ahead.

“I’m looking forward to the next one [dose] so I can get out and don’t have to eat my wife’s cooking!” Creel said.

Hospital officials said they hope showing the vaccination process, up close, from the start will encourage the public and their own employees to sign up.

The hospital was to begin vaccinating roughly 700 hospital staff Wednesday. After the staff members get their shots, veterans interested in the vaccine will be brought in, screened, and given their.

The hospital plans to administer 1,950 vaccines by the end of the year.

The Birmingham VA Medical Center is one of 37 VA sites across the country administering COVID-19 vaccines.