ABINGDON, Va. — A Ballad Health nurse received the first COVID-19 vaccination in the Tri-Cities region on Tuesday afternoon in what the hospital says is the first ray of hope amid an increasing number of new daily cases, hospitalizations and deaths in the Appalachian region.
Emily Boucher, a registered nurse in Johnston Memorial Hospital's COVID-19 intensive care unit in Abingdon, was the first to receive the vaccine.