INDIANAPOLIS — As hospitals continue to fill up with COVID-19 patients, doctors and nurses are suffering, too.
Many, if not infected or quarantined themselves, are worn out and weary.
"This work is physically and emotionally exhausting and you can see it in their eyes," said Lee Ann Blue, Chief Nursing Officer & Executive Vice President of Patient Care Services at Eskenazi Hospital.
But for thousands of frontline healthcare workers, a shot of hope is now here in the form of a COVID-19 vaccine.
"I just took the first available appointment," said Allison Shelley, a registered nurse from east central Indiana.
The Indiana State Department of Health says that by the end of the week, more than 50 Indiana hospitals and clinics are expected have received a total of 55,575 vaccine doses. According to the Associated Press, it's part of the largest vaccination campaign in U.S. history.
Shelley said for her, the vaccine will hopefully mean a return to relative normalcy.
"I think just to be able to go back to the things that we enjoy doing that we probably took for granted before the pandemic. Going to play baseball, seeing our friends and celebrating holidays," Shelley said.
Shelley said she hopes healthcare workers like her can serve as an example to others.
"Ideally, if those of us that are getting it first can speak personally to the fact that it's safe and it's OK and we're making a difference, then hopefully people will get it when it's their chance to get it," Shelley said.
Gail Hocutt has been a registered nurse at Riley Hospital for Children at IU Health for more than 30 years.
She signed up to get her vaccine next week.
"I think it's the right thing to do," Hocutt said. "We need to move forward from where we are now because where we are is not a good place and this is the hope that we can do that."