Vaccine rollout ‘monumental’
Nearly 500 frontline workers volunteer and receive doses on Maui
WAILUKU — Hailed as history in the making, the first doses of the coronavirus vaccine were administered Wednesday to hundreds of Maui County frontline health care workers and first responders, with many citing community service as the reason they volunteered.
Officials said 270 Maui Health System staff received the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine at Maui Memorial Medical Center in Wailuku. Another 215 police, fire and American Medical Response workers took the Moderna vaccine at University of Hawaii Maui College in Kahului.
Hawaii to date has received 33,450 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines, with fewer than expected going to Maui and Oahu, the state Department of Health said Wednesday. Maui had the least vaccines, with 975 Pfizer and 2,000 Moderna doses. Thousands of doses are anticipated to arrive in all counties next week, DOH added.
The first day of vaccinations was an emotional one for doctors, nurses, respiratory therapists, police, firefighters, AMR and other frontline workers interviewed by The Maui News.
“Today, I just felt hopeful,” said Will Ambat, a Maui Memorial respiratory therapist who was the first in Maui County to receive the vaccine. “It’s been a rough year for everybody. With the vaccine, it’s like the beginning of the end of this COVID era.”
Sean Merrell, a Maui Memorial graduate nurse administering the first shot, said he had gotten emotional thinking about the importance of the day.
“I thought a lot about it yesterday,” he said. “It’s been such a whirlwind of a year — it’s been hard for so many people. This is monumental.”
Emergency Department physician Dr. Jason Aines, the first doctor in the county to receive the vaccine, said getting vaccinated is a “service to the community.”
“We live in a small, isolated community — there are very few degrees of separation between everybody on the island,” he said. “Obviously getting this vaccine will protect you, but it’s also going to protect members of our community who are at risk of getting sick from this.”
Taryn Pacheco, among the first COVID unit nurses to get the vaccine, said she and her co-workers have seen the worst of the virus, and that she’s tired and ready for it to be over.
“I’ve sat in rooms where I’m the only person there, where the family is on FaceTime,” she said. “My co-workers will tell you I’ve left work in tears; I’ve had to take a timeout and sit in the break room to cry. Because it’s completely against our entire culture to have to pay our last respects over an iPad.”
She said the COVID unit is like a “war zone,” with tape everywhere. Staff are unrecognizable in personal protective equipment.
“It’s not political — it is what it is,” Pacheco said. “It’s a virus. And it’s killing our families and our community. I am ready for it to be gone. We are ready for this to be done.”
While health care workers and first responders lauded the vaccine rollout as a pivotal point in the pandemic, they cautioned that the work is not over.
Dr. Lorrin Pang, Maui District health officer, said people should still follow the six W’s — wear a mask, watch your physical distance, wash hands, wipe down surfaces, head for wide-open spaces and make sure you’re well before going out in public.
He said experts are cautioning that the worst may be ahead, especially since any vaccines must catch up with fast-moving spreads.
Pang, who received the vaccine Wednesday, said there are uncertainties surrounding both the illness and the vaccine.
“We openly admit we don’t know the long-term effects of the vaccine,” he said. “You can’t and we really don’t know the long-term effects of COVID. So long-term versus long-term? Both unknown.”
Still, others were eager to get the vaccine and encouraged frontline workers to do the same.
“I looked forward to this for a while,” said Curt Morimoto, AMR Maui County operations manager. “I’ve been following the science. I’m very happy it’s here. As soon as there was an opportunity, I was there.”
Kaitlyn Talbot, an ER nurse who received a vaccine Wednesday, said other frontline workers should get vaccinated.
“I think it’s always important to do your own research and do what’s right for you,” she said. “I think at this point, this is what’s right for us, as health care workers and any other people on the front lines.”
Maui Health received its first shipment of 975 PfizerBioNTech vaccines Monday, with more vaccine doses arriving soon. Maui Memorial vaccine clinics will be held for 10 hours daily “to ensure all Maui Health employees and affiliated physicians can receive the vaccine, if they wish,” a Maui Health news release said. Maui Health is not offering vaccines to the general public at this time.
Chrissy Miller, Maui Health employee health manager who has been key in the vaccine administration, said five people can be seen every 15 minutes. Some health care workers received stickers after getting shots that they said were painless.
“It’s a big relief,” Miller said. “I’ve had to hold back tears. It’s been a tough year. I’m happy to provide the vaccine.”
Bridget Velasco, a DOH official who helped plan the Kahului vaccination clinic with
UH-MC and the Hawaii National Guard, said vaccinations will be held for first responders Tuesdays and Saturdays during the holidays, then on a Monday, Wednesday and Friday schedule. Velasco said 600 to 700 doses are slated to be administered Saturday.
“There’s a level of excitement today, just knowing we’re moving forward,” she said. “As we continue to do this, we will be able to scale up.”
The Moderna vaccines are scheduled to reach Lana‘i Community Hospital next week with vaccine clinics to be scheduled soon, the news release said. They will be administered by CVS Pharmacy as part of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services program for long-term care facilities.
Health care and frontline workers in the first phase of vaccine administration fill out health forms and undergo screening prior to getting vaccinated. After vaccination, they are monitored for any side effects for 15 minutes.
About a dozen interviewed said they didn’t experience any pain or initial side effects with the vaccine.
“Unless happiness is a side effect, and I’m typically not happy this early in the morning,” said Ambat.
■ Kehaulani Cerizo can be reached at kcerizo@mauinews.com.