News File Photo Six-year-old Irelyn Sayers supervises as Michigan National Guardsman 2nd Lt. Brianna Russell administers a dose of a COVID-19 vaccine to Alpena resident Debbie Sayers at a vaccinaation clinic at Alpena Community College in January.

ALPENA — In the gymnasium of Alpena Community College on Saturday, area residents wove through lines of yellow caution tape, wending their way toward the vaccination many feel is a real shot in the arm on the road to recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

About 1,000 first-dose vaccinations were scheduled for Saturday’s clinic, according to Matt Radocy, emergency preparedness coordinator for District Health Department No. 4.

The department is ready to offer more large-scale vaccination events as more vaccine becomes available, Radocy said.

On Friday, local health officials learned they would only receive about a quarter of the doses they requested for this week’s vaccinations, forcing the cancellation of three vaccination clinics in Alpena, Presque Isle, and Montmorency counties.

People registered for those events will be contacted to reschedule appointments, and second doses were not endangered by the reduced shipment, health officials said.

News Photo by Julie Riddle Matt Radocy, emergency preparedness coordinator for District Health Department No. 4, confers with a registration worker at a vaccination clinic at Alpena Community College on Saturday.

Saturday’s event drew a well-spaced crowd of people who were in good spirits and eager to express their gratitude to health department workers, according to Radocy.

In 15 years of work in emergency preparedness, he never thought he’d be a part of a health crisis on a global scale, Radocy said.

“And then, the real deal happened,” Radocy said. “And now we have the light at the end of the tunnel. It’s still a long tunnel, but you can see it now.”

Several ACC nursing students and instructors were on hand to help out at the clinic, as were eight Michigan National Guardsmen.

With health departments working at full force to run almost daily clinics across the region, the support of the National Guard has been crucial to making such events happen, Radocy said.

Capt. Danier Sackmann, the National Guard officer in charge of the event, radiated enthusiasm as he watched residents move through the ACC gymnasium.

“It’s a mission of giving hope to the community,” Sackmann gushed. “Which is awesome. In a land of depression, you can finally give some hope.”

For some, the trip to a vaccination clinic is their first time out of the house in nine months, Sackmann said.

He’s worked clinics across the state and vaccinated teachers, police officers, war veterans, and even a 104-year-old woman and a World War II fighter pilot.

“I’ve been in ten years, and this is my favorite assignment ever,” Sackmann beamed.

Crying is allowed in the vaccination chair, said Army nurse and Guardsman 2nd Lt. Brianna Russell, administering first doses at Saturday’s event.

She’s seen happy tears as she vaccinated doctors and nurses who have witnessed the ravages of the virus in their emergency rooms and intensive care units.

She wept with a woman being vaccinated just after the woman lost her mother to COVID-19.

Now, Russell is hopping from hotel room to hotel room, driving six to eight hours a day to clinic sites around the state.

She misses her family, but it’s worth it, the Guardsman said.

“We’re making history,” Russell said. “The stuff in these vials is gold.”

In the waiting area, where residents relaxed for 15 minutes after their shots to check for reactions to the vaccine, Deborah Fitzpatrick of Ocqueoc said her injection didn’t hurt.

She’s lost one family member to COVID-19, and several other people she knows have been infected. The vaccination gives her hope, Fitzpatrick said.

“Now people will have a chance to be OK,” she said. “I can’t wait to hug my grandkids.”