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�������ϲʿ����������ͼ Health today (Dec. 15) began inoculating its frontline health care workers against COVID-19, just hours after the vaccine arrived.

Eva Teniola, a clinical nurse in the emergency department, was the first person at the �������ϲʿ����������ͼ Medical Center to receive the historic vaccine produced by Pfizer and BioNTech.

“See, we did it,” she exclaimed, throwing her arms wide with joy after her injection, as other employees broke out into applause around her. The 47-year-old said she signed up to get the vaccine the moment she learned it was going to be available.

“I’d rather get the vaccine before COVID gets me,” she said. When others in the room called her a hero, she said, “The vaccine is the real hero!”

Personal and emotional

Packed in dry ice, the shipment of 4,875 doses from a Pfizer distribution center arrived at the �������ϲʿ����������ͼ Medical Center’s loading dock shortly after 7 a.m., and the vaccinations began about three hours later with vaccine removed from subzero-temperature storage, thawed and mixed with saline.

“This is just like a lifeline,” said 65-year-old Shashi Kant, a 28-year custodian who works in the intensive care unit and the emergency department. For him, it was a personal and emotional decision. His 36-year-old daughter died three months ago from COVID-19.

“I’m protecting myself and the patients,” he said. “The whole world prayed for [the vaccine].”

The vaccine contains genetic material — messenger RNA — that directs the body to create antibodies to the virus, providing protection if a person is exposed to the coronavirus in the future. �������ϲʿ����������ͼ Health is among 150 sites worldwide that joined with Pfizer-BioNTech in the vaccine’s — a study that enrolled more than 40,000 people worldwide, including 225 at �������ϲʿ����������ͼ Health.

Winning the war

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted approval last Friday (Dec. 11) for the vaccine’s emergency use. “This is truly the beginning of the end of the war on the pandemic,” �������ϲʿ����������ͼ Health CEO David Lubarsky said today. “And now we have the tools to win this war and to save lives. We are ready to lead the way out of the pandemic.”

Dozens of �������ϲʿ����������ͼ Health employees received the first of their two doses — the second is due in 21 days — as the health system embarked on a major effort to inoculate employees as quickly as possible. Emergency department personnel comprise the first group, including doctors, nurses and respiratory therapists who provide direct care to patients, as well as reception, food service and cleaning staff.

�������ϲʿ����������ͼ Health has developed priority tiers to ensure the equitable distribution among employees who wish to be inoculated. The tiers are based on the risk of COVID-19 infection while on the job. The health system expects to inoculate about 400 employees a day, and eventually, as many as 1,000 as other vaccines become available.

Wider distribution

The California Department of Health directed early allotments of the vaccine to �������ϲʿ����������ͼ Health and six other institutions up and down the state based on their storage capability, highest-risk health care population and ability to distribute vaccine in the community when it becomes widely available. 

As vaccines from other manufacturers arrive, �������ϲʿ����������ͼ Medical Center will continue to inoculate employees based on the tier system and risk level. The state Department of Public Health estimates that vaccinations for the general public could begin in the spring. 

�������ϲʿ����������ͼ Health has ample subzero-temperature storage for this first allotment. With additional freezers expected to be delivered in the coming weeks, �������ϲʿ����������ͼ Health could potentially store nearly a half-million doses of the  vaccine at a time. 

Excitement in the air

In an auditorium converted into a vaccine clinic with seven stations, the first shots prompted tears among some of the employees who had come to observe. The excitement was palpable in the air..

“It feels like there’s possibly an end to what’s been going on and I feel very brave doing this and helping other people,” said Jen Shergill, a respiratory therapist who works with COVID-19 patients and received her first dose of the vaccine today.

“Just be brave and get the vaccine. You’re protecting yourself. You’re protecting your family and friends and you’re protecting the community.”

Shergill, 54, is eagerly anticipating a post-COVID-19 world, thanks to the vaccine. “I’m most looking forward to going out, being around people and being able to hug them.”

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