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Cellular warriors

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Benjamin Stratton
  • Minot Air Force Base Public Affairs
MINOT AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. --  Whether Airmen deploy to the Middle East or to Central America, or their families require defense for a fatal illness, the base Allergy and Immunizations Clinic provides life saving vaccines, antibiotics and serums for the body on a cellular level.

"What we do here is extremely important," said Staff Sgt. Christopher Brown, 5th Medical Operations Squadron allergy and immunizations technician. "We help to ensure the health of the Airmen and their families. If they get sick, it impacts the mission."

Every active duty member on base is required to get the flu shot annually. This prevents the virus from spreading across base and ensures the mission continues.

"Our people travel all over the world," said Tech. Sgt. Patrenia Hawkins-Hearn, 5th MDOS allergy and immunizations noncommissioned officer-in-charge. "They are exposed to many different contagions and our inoculations ensure both the safety of the person and of the mission. We vaccinate about 15,000 people every year."

But it's not just the base's active duty personnel these Airmen protect, it's also their children.

"It's really about helping the kids," said Staff Sgt. Ashley Swink, 5th MDOS independent duty medical technician currently assigned to flight medicine. "It is knowing that what we're doing is helping someone."

Sergeant Swink works with various units in the medical group as she trains to become a fully equipped field medic. Her skills are best utilized at deployed locations, she said.

While administering preventative vaccines and antibiotics is a large part of the clinic's mission, there is another section of equal importance.

"We also do allergy testing," said Sergeant Brown. "Anything from hay to grass to things like cats and cockroaches, we can produce vaccines for these allergies. The serum we make may help to lower a patient's symptoms and someday cure the disease."

He added in most cases they are able to cure the individual for up to 90 percent of the allergy. Click here for a list of available serums available on base.

According to Sergeant Brown if their allergy is not on the list they can refer the patient downtown to Trinity and the cost would still be covered by the Air Force.

"The procedure also helps to control asthma," Sergeant Brown said.

"Especially since allergies and asthma go hand-in-hand," added Sergeant Swink.

What really makes the services these Airmen provide great is the fact one can continue their treatments at every stateside base and in select deployed locations.

"The good thing about our serum is that it's standard across the entire DoD [Department of Defense]," Sergeant Hawkins-Hearn said. "It doesn't matter which branch you serve with, we're here to help."

Additionally, the clinic performs pulmonary lung testing, which helps find if a person has asthma and many other lung diseases.

"The base firefighters are required to do a yearly pulmonary lung test," said Sergeant Brown. "We also provide education for preventative diseases."

Yet, why continue the work? What makes being an allergy and immunizations technician worthwhile?

"The job is self rewarding," Sergeant Brown said. "This is one of the only jobs you can see everything you do is good."

"It's knowing that shot you gave may save someone's life," added Sergeant Hawkins-Hearn.