TIME Magazine Features Vaccine Rollout in Kanawha County in New Article
CHARLESTON, WV (WOWK) — Before Dr. Sherri Young steps down as a health officer with the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department, she’s making West Virginia proud again.
She again brought national attention to the state through TIME magazine.
“He’s a 95-year-old gentleman, Dana, who absolutely touched our hearts and serenaded us with several tracks including Country Roads before we gave him his shot,” Young said, flipping through photos for the article. .
“I always said our Kanawha County team was number one, I would have played them against anyone in the country and finally I can say this to the team: they are number one – they will always be number one in my heart, but here it is on paper in TIME Magazine for everyone to see,” she said.
“I always said our Kanawha County team was number one, I would have pitted them against anyone in the country.”
Dr Sherri young, kchd health officer
The article is titled “Lessons from Vaccine Success in a West Virginia County.”
It follows Young and his team through vaccine deployments in Kanawha County.
Kanawha County Commission Chairman Kent Carper says his work has saved countless lives.
“She doesn’t sit in an office and think about things and ask other people to do the work, she was on the front line, she went door to door, she did home visits, she did this; risked his life, risked the health of his family,” Carper said.
“She doesn’t sit in a desk and think about things and ask other people to do the work.”
Kanawha County Commissioner Kent Carper
It’s something she grew up with her quadriplegic grandfather.
She credits the many doctors and dentists who visited her with extending her life.
“Because of the care he received, he was supposed to live six months – he lived 24 years,” she said.
She will soon put that into practice when she leaves her position as a health officer with the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department for one at CAMC with the West Virginia Health Network.
“What we’re going to do is we’re going to create networks to help support patients at home,” Young said.
Carper says she leaves Kanawha County with 100,000 shots in her arms, but he wants to remind everyone that COVID-19 isn’t over.
“She left the department strong, she has her team in place, but we still have to worry about COVID-19,” he said.
The article will appear in the July 5 issue of TIME Magazine.
