Emerson Hospital To Get At Least 2,500 COVID-19 Vaccines

CONCORD, MA — Pfizer's coronavirus vaccines are planned to arrive at Emerson Hospital on Wednesday and hospital officials are optimistic about what the arrival means for the future.

"We expect in the early phases to get enough vaccines to vaccinate everyone who works in the hospital," said Emerson Hospital's Chief Medical Officer Dr. Barry Kitch.

At least 2,500 doses, or enough to vaccinate all 2,500 staff members, will be distributed to the hospital, and are expected to be used by the end of the month. The vaccines are coming in shipments — the first several hundred doses are expected Wednesday and several hundred more will be delivered when those are used up.

'COVID-19 facing' employees will be among the first to get the vaccine Thursday morning. This group includes doctors and nurses dealing directly with COVID-19 positive patients as well as Urgent Care workers, testing site workers and emergency room and intensive care unit employees.

"This is an extraordinarily exciting time for us," Dr. Kitch said.

The impact of the vaccine's arrival was contextualized at a hospital meeting the other day, Dr. Kitch said. A staff leader shared that just the thought of a vaccine making its way to Emerson in the next week brought tears to his eyes.

"It's an expression of both what we've been through and the exciting moment we've arrived at," Dr. Kitch said.

On Monday, a New York nurse became the first U.S. front-line worker to receive the vaccine. Since then, front-line workers and seniors across the country have been rolling up their sleeves to get the first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Pfizer reported the vaccine as 95 percent effective in clinical trials. It is administered like a flu shot in your arm and uses mRNA, or messenger RNA to protect your body from the virus. The mRNA gives your cells instructions to make a harmless version of the protein that's found on the COVID-19 virus surface — that way your body knows how to recognize and fight the protein and the virus carrying it.

The vaccine is given in two shots, each being 21 days apart. The vaccine is believed to be effective for at least three months but officials speculate it could be longer.

While the vaccine is a signal that the pandemic might be "in the rear-view mirror" for hospital staff, officials are still warning that this is no time to let your guard down.

"This is not a silver bullet," said Emerson President Christine Schuster, "We see a lot of hope and would like to think that by next fall things will be close to getting back to normal."

Schuster highlighted that Emerson is still encouraging the community to practice social distancing, wear masks and practice good hygiene. Staff at the hospital will also be abiding by the same rules, keeping masks and consistent hand-washing a staple in Emerson.

The vaccine will not be mandatory for Emerson staff, but officials said they aren't worried about staff not taking the vaccine since several have expressed excitement about its arrival. Regardless, Schuster said the precautions the hospital already has in place will remain, keeping all patients and staff safe, whether they take the vaccine or not.

The vaccinations are part of initial U.S. distribution, which will continue into 2021 and will eventually be used to treat the public.

Those who receive the vaccine must be monitored for 15 minutes to monitor any allergic reactions, which is why many hospitals are limiting the vaccinations to about 100 per hour.