Coronavirus vaccine arrives in Texarkana
Health care workers begin to get shots
TEXARKANA, Texas — Front-line health care workers at both local hospitals were vaccinated against the coronavirus Thursday, after the first shipments of vaccine arrived earlier in the day.
Beginning Thursday afternoon, dozens of health care providers at Wadley Regional Medical Center and CHRISTUS St. Michael Health System got the first of two needed injections of Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine, the first approved for emergency use by the Food and Drug Administration. A second injection will follow in 21 days.
In accordance with Texas’ vaccine distribution plan, the first to be inoculated were health care workers who have direct contact with COVID-19 patients.
Lauren Tolleson, a registered respiratory therapist at St. Michael, said that after months of working with COVID-19 patients, getting the vaccine was welcome.
“I’ve got a sense of relief. I’m glad that it’s finally here and we can start getting a little relief in the community,” she said. “I think it’s going to be a really good thing.”
Dr. Jason Harris, medical director of St. Michael’s emergency department, was also among the first local recipients of the vaccine.
“I am on the front line seeing patients with COVID every single day, and I just feel that this is the time to start to stop the spread of COVID. And I want to protect myself and my family from this horrific pandemic. …
“I am relieved,” Harris said. “I can’t wait for about three weeks from now to get that second vaccine, and then another seven days and hopefully I’ll have the antibodies.”
Treating COVID-19 patients has been stressful, Harris said.
“We’re pretty stressed. It’s been busy in there every single day. We’re still seeing lots of patients with COVID. It’s picked up quite a bit after the Thanksgiving holidays, and the Christmas holidays coming up, we do expect another surge. But we’re all holding up, and we’re working as hard as we can to try to prevent anybody from getting sick,” he said.
The first shipments of Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine arrived at local hospitals this morning, marking what one administrator called the beginning of the end of
the virus in Texarkana.
At about 9:30 a.m. at Wadley Regional Medical Center and 10 a.m. at CHRISTUS St. Michael Health System, UPS delivered boxes in which 975 doses of the vaccine were packed in dry ice to keep them at the required -94 degrees Fahrenheit.
St. Michael staff greeted the delivery truck with applause, and after brief comments by hospital President Jason Rounds, the Rev. Lawrence Chellaian delivered a blessing and sprinkled the box of vaccine with holy water.
Rounds said St. Michael staff began registering for vaccination appointments Wednesday night and vaccinations will continue through the holidays. He expressed optimism that the vaccine’s arrival marks a turning point in the COVID19 pandemic that, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services, had claimed the lives of 112 Bowie County, Texas, residents as of Wednesday.
“This is a great day for our community,” Rounds said. “Christmas has come early to Texarkana USA and CHRISTUS St. Michael Health System. So we’re very enthusiastic. We are hopeful that this is going to be the beginning of the end of this virus.”
Both hospitals have received training from Pfizer, TDSHS and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention regarding how to store, handle and administer the vaccine, as well as how to track the health of recipients. Both are equipped with ultra-low-temperature freezers needed for vaccine storage.
“We anticipate that as we thaw these doses, we will be administering them. And we plan to administer every single dose,” said Dr. Loren Robinson, St. Michael’s vice president for medical affairs.
Harris emphasized that the vaccine does not eliminate the need to follow health safety protocols such as wearing masks when around others, social distancing and frequent hand-washing. He added that there are still unknowns about the vaccine, including how long the immunity it stimulates will last.
“We still have to figure out the lifetime immunity of the vaccine. Are we going to have to get it every year? Will it convey lifetime immunity? Those are questions we just can’t answer yet,” he said.