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To the Editor:

I read the article in your paper about Longwood getting ready to vaccinate their 1C faculty using the excuse of getting experience for their nursing students.

The mandate from the federal and state governments is very clear. People with a 1A designation get their shots first; 1B goes second; and 1C goes third.

I am stunned that Longwood feels they are better than others and should be able to break in line. If the nurses need practice, let them get it while vaccinating the 1A and the thousands of 1B people.

I guess it shouldn’t surprise me that Longwood uses their political pull to insert themselves in front of the rest of us. It certainly won’t be the first time. The amazing thing is that Dr. (H. Robert) Nash seems to be endorsing it.

Dr. Nash has done a poor job of getting vaccines for Prince Edward County, and now he doesn’t understand his ABCs either. Newspaper reports say Giles Countyvaccinated 1,000 seniors in one day at a drive-thru clinic, and 1,250 people over 75 were vaccinated two Fridays ago in Berryville.

We haven’t even gotten all the 1A people vaccinated. I think Dr. Nash should find work elsewhere, and Longwood should show some integrity for a change. What a poor example Longwood is setting for their students, “It’s OK to break in line if you have political pull.”

I read in the Richmond paper that some 600 realtors and credit union people tried the same ploy in Richmond and called it practice. When the newspaper exposed the caper to the public, it was canceled, and that is exactly what Longwood should do.

The vaccines are divided among health districts and counties. A professor who lives in a different county who is vaccinated here means one less shot for a Prince Edward citizen. What a mess Longwood is proposing to benefit only themselves.

The county stands ready to help by offering to buy a drive-thru tent so people can stay in their cars and also hire up to three paramedics to give the shots. If other Virginia counties are getting the vaccine, why can’t Longwood and Nash use their political power to get it here for the people who are waiting patiently in line here?

This is a disorganized disgrace.

Jim Wilck

Farmville

(EDITOR’S NOTE – Jim Wilck is a member of the Board of Supervisors for Prince Edward County representing the Farmville district.)