“I’ve never had an opportunity to do anything so important,” said Karen Harris, a pharmacy technician who has been on the job for more than 20 years. But what’s been required for COVID-19 is a first.

“This is our contribution to the public,” said Harris, who is part of a system-wide team helping prep vaccines at the Vidant / Pitt County Large-Scale Vaccine Clinic at the Greenville Convention Center.

“It’s kind of overwhelming to even think about being involved. And I’m grateful, so grateful that I can be a part of it – because this is a part of history,” she said.

The vaccines used at the convention center get their start at a pharmacy at ECU Health Medical Center (VMC) each morning. An early start — and a lot of planning and coordination — ensures vaccines arrive when and where they are needed across eastern North Carolina.

“We carry a tray of vaccines out, with 20, 30, 40 doses over to our vaccination area,” said Andy Grimone, assistant director of pharmacy at VMC. “The doses are all prepared and no one really knows how they got to that point.”

What’s not a mystery — the significance of their role and the doses of hope they deliver.

“The experts and the science behind it is saying the vaccine is working,” said Grimone. “So to know that what we’re doing here is making an impact in eastern North Carolina, is pretty awesome. And we couldn’t do it without this team.”

Harris agrees. “Everybody here is dedicated to what we’re doing. We all want to stop COVID-19 and the best way to do that is to vaccinate.”

For additional information on vaccine appointment availability and how to register for your dose of hope, please visit www.VidantHealth.com/Vaccinate.