Photos courtesy of University of Iowa Health Care.

A Washington High School alumnus was the first Iowan to receive the COVID-19 vaccine Monday.

Registered Nurse David Conway, who graduated from Washington in 1999, was the first to be vaccinated as University of Iowa Health Care was the first in the state to start vaccinating employees with the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. Conway said he wants his colleagues to know that the vaccine was fast, painless, and the “right thing to do.” Conway has worked in the University of Iowa’s emergency room department for several years. He said he wants the public to know that the vaccine is a great way to get ahead of the virus so we can get things back to normal. More than 50 UI Health Care employees received the first of two doses on the first day of vaccination, as it was approved for emergency use by the Food and Drug Administration on December 11th and is prioritized by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for health care workers and long-term care facility residents.