If you’ve been vaccinated against COVID-19 on Nantucket, there’s a good chance you got your shot from Nick Aleksiev.
As one of the town’s volunteer vaccinators at the twice-weekly clinic, Aleksiev has been giving his own time to help the island fight the virus, and stay safe as the Delta variant circulates on Nantucket.
“I love it,” Aleksiev says of the volunteer work at the clinic. “To be able to do this and to help make sure of people’s wellbeing and getting vaccinated, I feel like I’m doing a lot. I’m happy to help.”
A native of Sofia, Bulgaria, Aleksiev first came to Nantucket in 2003 on a J1 visa and worked at Henry’s sandwich shop on Broad Street. He returned several times as a tourist before settling on the island once again for the summer in 2010. In the years since, he’s continued to work at Henry Jr. on Orange Street, while also securing his EMT license, allowing him to work in several different capacities at Nantucket Cottage Hospital.
In June of 2018, he became a U.S. citizen.
This summer, Aleksiev has spent his Thursdays and Sundays at the town vaccine clinic, which recently moved from the Saltmarsh Senior Center to the Nantucket Public Schools administrative office on First way.
“I wanted to do something, and if I can help to get things back to normal, that’s what I want to do,” Aleksiev said. “How it (the virus) impacts life, it’s changed everything.”
Today, Aleksiev and his husband Emil own a home on the island, and Aleksiev’s family – including his sister, bother-in-law, nephew and niece – all call Nantucket home.
