MCSA receives vaccine for frontline workers
The Medical Center of South Arkansas (MCSA) received its first batch of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine on Thursday morning, Dec. 17.
Pfizer started rolling out the vaccine for distribution across the country on Sunday, Dec. 13 from its manufacturing facility in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
After arrival, Eli Vinson, Director of Pharmacy at MCSA, oversaw the taking-in process of the COVID-19 vaccines and immediately got to work preparing the syringes, swabs, bandaids and other materials needed to start vaccinating all of the essential medical staff at the facility.
“We were allotted ample vaccines to cover our frontline workers here at the hospital,” Vinson said.
The country is in what some analysts view as the most difficult part of the pandemic, with dropping temperatures and also now having to contend with flu season, so having this vaccine for the medical staff is extremely important.
“Part of the phase one recommendation is to get our frontline health care workers who take care of really sick patients vaccinated. Number one being we're going to need them today, tomorrow and in the months ahead, so we're going to need them to be as healthy as possible,” Vinson explained.
Once the batch of vaccines are unpacked, it takes about thirty minutes for the vials to defrost. After the prepping and defrosting process took place, Dr. Ugochukwu Nwude of MCSA was the first person in the hospital to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. After the vaccine was administered, fellow staffers that were in the room to witness broke out into applause.
“As a frontline worker, I like to protect myself and stay healthy so I can protect my patients and also protect my family, that is
very important to me,” Nwude said after being vaccinated.
Right now, across the country, essential medical workers are the main priority for getting the first batches of COVID-19 vaccines; Vinson said he feels this is the first step in finally getting ahead of this virus.
“It is a very important day. We've been waiting for something like this for a long time and it is my hope that this will be the turning point to where we can see a huge change in the number of positive patients, sick patients and the number of deaths we have seen from this virus,” Vinson said. “Hopefully this is the beginning of the light at the end of the tunnel.”