BALTIMORE (WJZ) – After a five-month period in which a quarter of a million people received a Covid-19 vaccination, the doors of the vaccination center in the M&T Bank Stadium will be locked until the football season.
Tonight at 5:30 am: The vaccination station at the M&T Bank Stadium is closing this week, but one last bit of help is coming. @wjz pic.twitter.com/Gj3POggV63
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– Max McGee (@MaxMcGeeTV) June 29, 2021
However, therapy dogs were used on Tuesday to boost patient and staff morale. Loki is a therapy dog at UMMC. She and her mother, Caroline Benzel, donated healing kits to frontline workers during the worst of days.
Benzel remembers well when she got the dog that encouraged thousands. “I called her for fun and asked if they ever wanted to give one away and she said,” Perfect, Caroline. You’re not going to screw this up. “
Benzel acquired Loki the next day, the same day she was admitted to the University of Maryland Medical School.
“I think dogs are just something that makes people think of their home, which may have grown up with animals. It’s comforting and dogs just have this unconditional love, ”she said.
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Hope has been serving in the Maryland Air National Guard’s 175th Wing since she was 14. In her free time, she loves a good head massage.
Captain Brandon Williams found therapy dog Lobo on the streets of Texas. It helps relax people who are afraid of needles during vaccinations.
“I made him a therapy dog because I’m actually a social worker,” said Williams. “I was in training for this and took him to some of the sites I went to, homeless shelters and the wounded warrior program.”
Anxiety and Depression Association of America said interacting with animals can reduce stress in humans. The vaccination center was operated by four partners, including the University of Maryland Medical System and the Department of Health.
Belly rubbing and smiles made this day go by faster and as those doors close we gasp a lot closer for Baltimore to get up again.
“I wanted to be there in every way and if that meant that I would come in with my dog in my spare time to make someone feel better because that’s the only thing that can help them, then I wanted to be that person”, added Benzel.
The site will have a closing ceremony on Thursday evening before closing the next day. Their opening times are from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
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Officials told WJZ that this entire trip was a mission well done.
