‘A MOMENTOUS DAY FOR MANKIND’
Health care workers among first to get COVID-19 vaccine as shipment of doses arrives in hard-hit state
HARTFORD — A momentous day for mankind. Historically significant like the first moon landing. The dawn of a new day. This is how the first vaccination against COVID-19 was described as it landed in Connecticut on Monday.
“This is a momentous day for mankind and I’m so privileged and humbled to be part of that today, receiving one of the first vaccines in the state of Connecticut and probably in the country,” said Dr. Ajay Kumar, chief clinical officer at Hartford HealthCare, the state’s first vaccine recipient. “I’m really excited. This vaccine is a sign of hope for our community, for our citizens in our great country.”
Kumar, surrounded by a bevy of reporters and state and hospital officials just outside Hartford Hospital, was among 15 front line health care workers that received the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine — the first to be approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
The vaccinations took place just hours before news broke that the U.S. had crossed the 300,000 threshold in COVID-19 deaths. The vaccine is one of four — three of which have yet to be approved — that are expected to create a turning point in a year that has tested the entire world’s health care systems and economies in once-unimaginable ways.
It also marks the first vaccine to be created, tested and authorized within just months, instead of years. The FDA approved the vaccine for emergency use Friday night.
The Hartford HealthCare system received 1,950 vaccines on Monday. The first doses arrived at about 9 a.m., roughly an hour
ahead of schedule, hospital officials said.
The vaccine comes in a powder form and is mixed with a liquid before being injected. It takes about half an hour to thaw out from the ultra-cold storage temperatures needed to preserve the vaccine, officials said.
Gov. Ned Lamont, who was not among those vaccinated, was on hand for the first dose and used a football term to describe the moment.
“I think this is the first time in a long time I think we see the end zone,” Lamont noted. “We have a lot more wearing masks and being careful to do. But, to each and every one of you, this is so deserving.”
Lamont added, “It took us a while to get going and we had some false starts, but we are going on all cylinders now. This messenger RNA is incredible. This is one of the most effective vaccines in the history of the world.”
The governor noted the state agreed the vaccine is safe and praised its 95 percent effective rate. He said he is still considering when to personally receive the shot.
That came as Connecticut health officials Monday recorded 7,231 new cases of
COVID-19 over the weekend, as deaths attributed to the virus approached 5,500. The cases were found among 119,015 new tests, for a positivity rate of just above
6 percent.
Another 33 patients were hospitalized for the illness in Connecticut, bringing to the total to 1,243.
Another 81 deaths brought the statewide death toll to 5,444.
Eweline McDade, a Hartford HealthCare worker who also received the vaccine on Monday, said she had no safety concerns.
“I’m not nervous,” McDade said. “I’ve done a significant review and it looks safe; nothing to worry about. The most surprising thing is there is no CO
VID-19 virus in the vaccine. When I looked at how the approach really works it made me comfortable to get
the vaccine.”
Dr. Patrick Troy, a pulmonologist at Hartford Hospital who has cared for many ICU patients during the pandemic, called development of the vaccine nothing short of putting a man on the moon.
“I’ll be honest, I didn’t sleep a wink last night,” Troy said. “Mostly based on the incredible excitement about this moment coming to fruition.”
He urged everyone to get the vaccine, calling it “doing the right thing for the safety and health” of friends, family, neighbors, co-worker and classmates.
“This vaccine is safe. This vaccine is effective … regardless of age, gender or race,” Troy said. “It came out quick, yes … (but) nowhere through this process was safety compromised.”
Jeffrey Flaks, president of Hartford HealthCare, praised the moment.
“This is the dawn of a new day,” Flaks said. “We have been here for 166 years and this is a tremendous moment.”
Flaks noted it was nine months ago that Hartford Hospital received its first COVID patient.
“That we can be here with the level of effectiveness of this vaccine, it’s almost impossible to imagine,” Flaks said. “We will continue to do testing but beginning today we are now building a statewide capability to deliver the vaccine.”
Approval of the vaccine came after an extensive review process that included input from scientific and public health experts, as well as a thorough evaluation by FDA career scientists to ensure it meets safety, effectiveness and manufacturing standards, according to FDA Commissioner Stephen M. Hahn.
Health care workers will receive the first doses of the vaccine, with nursing home residents and staff expected to start getting vaccinated before Christmas. A vaccine by Moderna is expected to be approved later this week.
Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca also have vaccines under development.