Moorestown, NJ COVID Vaccine Workers Get Visit from Therapy Dogs

Pre-occupied with getting protected against COVID-19, you may not have stopped to think about the health and well-being of the workers running the vaccine clinics day in and day out. But even they need some emotional support.

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Those front-line workers, consisting of healthcare professionals, volunteers, and members of the National Guard, have been seeing more and more faces everyday as the COVID vaccines roll out, sometimes thousands in a day. That kind of work is bound to take its toll, which is why its so amazing those working the vaccine mega-clinic in Moorestown were given some furry, cuddly comfort recently.

Phyllis Worrell, the Moorestown vaccine site's Clinic Manager, tells 6abc.com she noticed how stressed an environment it was becoming for everyone involved. So, she reached out to Tri-State K-9 Response Team. Worrell says, 'There's [also] a lot of anxiety going on in the lines' with individuals waiting to get their shot, who may be nervous about the process.

The mission of the Tri-State K-9 Response Team is, according to its official website: 'To comfort, support and enhance the quality of life of those who are suffering from a personal condition or community crisis utilizing the human/canine bond and its power to heal.'

Worrell thinks the presence of the dogs just helps everyone decompress a bit and take a minute to smile, and take some of the seriousness out of the whole environment there at Moorestown Mall.

It's a good thing I wasn't at this clinic for my shot the day the therapy dogs showed up, because I'd have been all up in their business. I probably would have forgotten all about even getting my vaccine.

SOURCES: 6abc.com; tri-statecanineresponse.org