‘SIGH OF RELIEF’
Montco frontline workers receive first doses of COVID-19 vaccine
After months of dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of medical professionals were given some of the first doses of the vaccine Friday morning in Montgomery County.
“I received my vaccine at 9 [a.m.], and it’s probably the brightest part of 2020,” said Melissa Hewitt, director of the Mom and Baby Unit and NICU at Einstein Medical Center Montgomery in East Norriton. “I feel that Christmas came early. I’m proud to be a member of health care. I’m proud to have gotten the vaccine.”
Her colleague, Dr. Amanda Deshisky, an emergency physician at Einstein Medical Center Montgomery, shared similar sentiments after getting vaccinated at 10:15 a.m.
“I received my vaccine at 9 [a.m.], and it’s probably the brightest part of 2020. I feel that Christmas came early. I’m proud to be a member of health care. I’m proud to have gotten the vaccine.”
— Melissa Hewitt, director of Einstein Medical Center Montgomery’s mom/baby unit and NICU
“I mean because I’ve seen the absolute horrors, the absolute horrors that the last nine,10 months that I wish that people never had to see and that I never want us to have to go through again. I want us as a country to get out of this, and I trust the scientists.”
“I refrained from crying while getting the vaccine, but certainty [it] is just this sigh of relief,” she said.
Nearly 10 miles away at Abington – Lansdale Hospital, Dr. Anita J. Sinese, a doctor of osteopathic medicine, was the first person to receive Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine at the Lansdale facility. She got her vaccination at 11:10 a.m., according to a hospital spokesperson.
“I’m honored and humbled to be a part of this historic moment,” Sinese said in a statement. “We all need to continue to follow CDC guidelines. However, this really is a very hopeful and optimistic day during what has been a dark time.”
Beginning vaccine distribution to frontline workers
Montgomery County Commissioners’ Chairwoman Dr. Val Arkoosh noted during Wednesday’s COVID-19 press briefing that shipments of the vaccine “will be arriving at eight of our nine Montgomery County hospitals this week and at our ninth hospital next week.”
There are three phases to distribute and administer the vaccine within the Pennsylvania Department of Health’s vaccination plan, but an early supply of the vaccine is expected to be limited.
The state’s Department of Health allocated 97,500 doses of the vaccine that are expected to be shipped to hospitals across the commonwealth, according to state officials, but it’s unclear how much will be allocated for county facilities.
“This vaccine will be use to vaccinate frontline hospital workers, but none of our hospitals are getting enough vaccine with this first delivery to vaccinate all of their workers,” Arkoosh said during Thursday’s Montgomery County Board of Commissioners meeting. “They are having to make priority lists even within the hospitals. We do not have a date certain as to when our hospitals will receive additional vaccine or how many doses.”
Beth Duffy, president and chief operating officer of Einstein Medical Center Montgomery, said her facility received 975 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. Seventy-nine people were scheduled to get vaccinated Friday, with vaccinations expected to continue through the end of the year.
“Everything is going really smoothly, and ... people are just so happy, and so excited, and so grateful that other people spent so much time and effort in developing something that is hopefully gonna help us get back to some normalcy,” Duffy said.
However, the allocated vaccines are set to be distributed throughout the hospital on a priority basis, according to Duffy.
Employees filled out a survey to determine if employees directly care for COVID-19 patients and if employees are interested in disclosing their age or any underlying health conditions, according to Duffy. The hospital then moves to A and B levels on a threetiered scale for scheduling purposes.
“We don’t know whether we will have enough vaccine to get to everybody,” she said.
At Abington - Lansdale Hospital, officials accepted 100 doses of the Pfizer vaccine, according to Katie Farrell, chief administrative officer of the Montgomery County medical facility.
“It’s great to be a part of a large health care system, such as Jefferson Health, that can allow us to be among the first in line for vaccination,” Farrell said in a statement. “We are hopeful
— Dr. Amanda Deshisky, emergency physician at Einstein Medical Center Montgomery
“I’m honored and humbled to be a part of this historic moment.” — Dr. Anita J. Sinese, doctor of osteopathic medicine at Abington – Lansdale Hospital
that this is the beginning of the end to this pandemic.”
Essential workers recall experience
For many medical professionals, working during the COVID-19 pandemic has been an experience unlike any other.
“I have been a bedside nurse for 15 years, and I’ve never seen anything in my career like COVID-19,” Hewitt said. “The fact that this virus has touched all age groups, all demographics and is so unpredictable, I think is what makes it scary.”
Deshisky, of Lower Pottsgrove, likened dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic to “getting ready to go into battle” as she gears up donning personal protective equipment, and often goes hours without eating or drinking during her shift in the emergency room to minimize risk of exposure to the novel coronavirus.
“For me, from the beginning, I had the mindset that this was going to be a long, drawn-out process,” she said.
The ongoing public health crisis has impacted hospital personnel nationwide, and Einstein Montgomery is no exception.
“I think it’s been emotionally and physically draining for the frontline staff dealing with this,” Hewitt said.
However, Duffy praised the essential workers at the Montgomery County facility for their dedication and determination to provide health care during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The staff has certainly met the challenge and has shown great resiliency, and I am just so proud of everything that they have done over the past nine months,” she said.
Hewitt, of Hatfield, said she’s often prioritized patients, risking her own health as she deals with lupus, an autoimmune disease.
“As long as I am safe, and I have the proper PPE, I will do whatever I can to help the community, and I feel like the vaccine is a step in that direction,” she said. “I feel like today almost I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.” Why take the vaccine? When asked for her reasoning behind taking the vaccine, her answer was simple.
“I’ve seen the absolute horrors, the absolute horrors that the last nine,10 months that I wish that people never had to see and that I never want us to have to go through again,” Deshisky said. “I want us as a country to get out of this, and I trust the scientists.”
Both Deshisky and Hewitt did their own due diligence to get more information about the vaccine.
Deshisky added she kept abreast of the latest details surrounding the vaccine type, the pharmaceutical company and trials.
“There was never a second question in my mind about am I going to not get this vaccine,” she said. “The question was which arm am I gonna get it in?”
Hewitt said she had some initial reservations.
“When I first heard about it I was nervous,” she said. “After I did research on it, I couldn’t wait to get it.”
Hewitt said she “signed up for the first available appointment there was” to receive the vaccine.
How does it work? At Einstein Montgomery’s facility, located at 59 W. Germantown Pike in East Norriton, Duffy said eligible employees interested in receiving the vaccine would first need to register for it.
“So employees get registered and once they’re registered they go in and they get your vaccine like you would any other vaccine,” Duffy said. “Your arm gets rubbed with alcohol, and the needle goes in your arm, and then you are asked to sit for 15 minutes to make sure that there aren’t any side effects that you’re feeling OK, and then you schedule your follow up appointment for your second dose and then you go on your way.”
Next steps for vaccine rollout as second wave continues
The Pfizer vaccine is a two-step process that requires a second dose “be administered within 21 days,” according to Duffy. However, it’s unclear exactly when the secondary doses will be administered to the Montgomery County hospital.
A little more than an hour after receiving the first dose, Deshisky said she was “really impressed” by the vaccination campaign[‘s’]” overall experience.
Additionally, all three recipients agreed they did not exhibit any side effects associated with the vaccine.
“It’s been a short amount of time, but I feel perfectly fine,” Hewitt said.
Hewitt and Deshisky have follow-up appointments scheduled for Jan. 7 and Jan. 8, respectively.
After what’s been such a long road, it appeared getting the vaccine was a step in the right direction for Deshisky.
“Recognizing we still have a long winter ahead of us until more people can get vaccinated, but it’s like, ‘Oh my gosh, it’s finally here we can finally see a little light,’” she said. “It gives me … the extra strength and energy to be like, ‘OK, we can get through this.’”