Lawrence General Hospital To Get 975 Vaccine Doses By Thursday

LAWRENCE, MA — Officials at Lawrence General Hospital expect to receive their first shipment of the coronavirus vaccine by Thursday as front-line workers across the country become among the first Americans to receive the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine.

A Lowell General Hospital spokesperson said Monday that the hospital will receive 975 doses within three days. On Monday, a New York nurse became the first U.S. front-line worker to receive the vaccine.

"Lawrence General Hospital has been preparing for safe and equitable vaccine distribution to frontline health care workers for several weeks and is fully prepared to safely conduct vaccinations," a spokesman said. "Due to the limited supply of 975 doses, the first group is limited to inpatient, emergency and procedural patient-facing hospital campus staff and medical staff regardless of roles. As a result, some non-clinical patient-facing staff will receive the vaccine during this first phase of distribution."

The hospital will continue with vaccinations in accordance with state guidelines as more doses are made available, the spokesman said.

"Vaccination is a critical step in assuring that health care workers remain free of infection and able to care for our community, particularly during the surge that Massachusetts is currently experiencing," the statement continued. "At the same time, we urge all community members to continue masking, social distancing, hand-washing and avoiding group gatherings until widespread vaccination occurs."

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.

Christopher Huffaker can be reached at 412-265-8353 or chris.huffaker@patch.com.