On Dec. 15 Paramedic Alan Goto – a 22-year veteran of the Seattle Fire Department – became the first department member to receive a COVID-19 vaccination. He received the first shot of the FDA-authorized Pfizer vaccination alongside several other healthcare workers at the UW Medical Center in north Seattle. "As public servants who have chosen to dedicate ourselves to protecting our community, getting vaccinated is the most relevant thing we can do in this moment to fulfill our commitment to serving the public," said paramedic Alan Goto.
Alan joined the Seattle Fire Department in 1998 and has spent the last nine years working as a paramedic, responding to patients suffering heart attacks, strokes, major injury, and other critical medical emergencies, including complications from COVID-19. When the pandemic hit the western Washington region in late February 2020, Alan was one of the first fire department members to step up to the challenge of changing the way we serve others.