The Chronicle Herald (Provincial)
Infirmary RN is first Nova Scotian to receive vaccine
A front-line worker from the Halifax Infirmary on Wednesday morning became the first Nova Scotian recipient of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Danielle Sheaves is a registered nurse in the QEII Health Sciences Centre's COVID-19 unit and she was the first to get an injection of the Pfizer vaccine at a Dalhousie University clinic, where 390 people were scheduled to receive it over the course of the day.
"It's a little overwhelming this morning, but it feels good," she said. "I was honoured to be ... the first person to get the vaccine."
A PARTY ATMOSPHERE
Joan Macneil, a registered nurse and advanced care paramedic, was also one of the first people to get the vaccine in the province at the COVID-19 vaccine clinic on Summer Street.
Macneil gets her flu shot every year and said the needle used to administer the COVID-19 vaccine was no different. The biggest difference she noticed was how excited everyone was to be at the vaccine clinic.
"It was like a party atmosphere where everybody was six feet apart," she said. "From the first step inside the door everyone was saying, ' thank you for coming,' and I just wanted to say, 'No, thank you for doing this.'"
Macneil received details about her vaccine appointment Tuesday morning and was told to arrive five minutes before the specified time.
When she got there, she was asked a few questions, then moved to the registration booth. Macneil said the nurse reviewed all the potential side effects with her before getting the
shot.
"The list is really the same as any regular flu shot or any vaccine that you get. ... Nothing stood out on that list," she said. "It's been several hours, and I don't feel sick today."
After getting the vaccine, she went to the recovery station where people were monitored for a few minutes before leaving.
"There were plenty of people (at the clinic), but it just moved so quickly, it felt like I was the only one," she said. "I was in and out start-to-finish in under 30 minutes."
Both Macneil and Sheaves said they didn't have any concerns about it.
"This is one of the only ways that we'll get back to some semblance of a normal life," said Sheaves. "It will protect the public, our patients, everybody, so I think everyone should get the vaccine."
Macneil said the technology behind MRNA vaccines has been under research for a long time, so it's exciting to finally see it come to life and be used to help people.
As a paramedic, Macneil said she knows first-hand how frightening it is to walk into someone's home and find a person who has COVID-19 symptoms and is in need of care.
"You're not sure if your PPE is going to be enough to protect you," she said.
She also has five kids and lives with her elderly mother. She said she hoped the vaccine will be one piece of the puzzle to protecting her loved ones.
"When the first wave was here, I literally didn't see anyone for six months," she said.
"It's like it's been dark forever, and now, suddenly, the sun is starting to rise. You can hug your mom again and no, you're not going to hurt her by hugging her."
The Nova Scotia government announced the first vaccination in a @nsgov tweet just before 11 a.m., calling Sheaves' injection “a major milestone in the battle against COVID-19.”
The province received 1,950 doses of the vaccine on Tuesday, which will all be administered in the next few days. The initial batch will be given by Public Health to health-care workers who work in settings where people with COVID-19 could be treated, such as emergency rooms, intensive care and long-term-care COVID units.
The supply of vaccine is expected to increase on a weekly basis, with half of the supply from the upcoming shipments kept in reserve for when recipients require their second dose in a few weeks' time.
Macneil said she wasn't given information about when she'll be receiving the second dose.
Dr. Robert Strang, Nova Scotia's chief medical officer of health, said the province expects 1,950 more doses to come in next Monday.