Oral history interview with Cynthia Wamsganz

Oral history interview with Cynthia Wamsganz

Cindy Wamsganz discusses her time as a nurse in the Emergency Department at the University of Vermont Medical Center during the COVID-19 pandemic. She especially focuses on her role as the first person in Vermont to get the COVID-19 vaccine. She was not officially selected to be the first recipient but believes that her status as one of the oldest nurses working in the ER was one factor that contributed to her receiving the opportunity. Additionally, she had been strongly encouraging ER personnel to consider receiving the vaccine as a way to protect themselves and future patients.

She also describes her experiences in the initial stages of the pandemic, including quarantining at home for two weeks after visiting family in Kodiak, Alaska. She compares her nursing experience in Vermont to a colleague's experience in New York City, noting that Vermont benefited from having sufficient PPE available as well as more time to put processes in place. As a resident of the Northeast Kingdom, she observes how many Vermonters did not experience COVID or know someone who got sick, which minimized their participation in getting vaccinated or practicing masking.

Cynthia "Cindy" Wamsganz, RN, had a lengthy career in nursing, including about 38 years at the University of Vermont Medical Center in Burlington, Vermont. She was the first person to receive the COVID-19 vaccine in Vermont.

Sponsored by the Institute of Museum and Library Services MA-251676-OMS-22.

2023-09-28

Collecting COVID-19: A Vermont Story Project

AudioFileCOVID-066

MP3

WAV

Audio file

Permission to publish material from the Collecting COVID-19: A Vermont Story Project may be obtained from the Vermont Historical Society.

Bosek, Marcia Sue DeWolf

Wamsganz, Cynthia

1 hr., 8 min., 58 sec.

Vermont Historical Society Library, 60 Washington Street, Barre, VT 05641-4215