First vaccines arrive, shots are ready to go
Health workers first in line
The shots are here.
“It’s so exciting. We’re going to start to see the end of this horrible pandemic,” said Joy Vreeland, associate chief pharmacy officer at Boston Medical Center, who admitted she had trouble sleeping the night before “with so many moving pieces.”
The precious vials of Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine arrived early via FedEx to BMC’s new “ultra-low” temperature freezer purchased just for this day and task. Vreeland, who has a doctorate in pharmacy, said her department had planned for this day.
The freezer was ordered in mid-October and security cameras can see “all around it.” She also said it is locked with a key and only pharmacy personnel have access to the fridge.
BMC spokeswoman Jenny Eriksen Leary said the hospital received 1,950 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.
“Beginning Wednesday, we will begin the first wave of vaccinations to front line health care workers, a group including doctors and nurses from our ICU and Emergency Department and patient floors that treat COVID-19 patients,” she added, “but just as importantly, employees from environmental and support services, and other crucial positions that work in COVID-positive patient areas.”
Vreeland added all the doses will be given out to front-line workers, who will need a second booster shot in 21 days. Still, she added, BMC didn’t receive enough shots to inoculate all the nurses, doctors and staffers on the COVID-19 wards — but there’s hope more will soon be en route.
Tufts Medical Center said it expects to receive its first shipment of the vaccine today, as will other hospitals in Greater Boston. Tufts front-line workers will begin receiving shots immediately once the doses arrive.
The shots are going to front-line workers first, as was spelled out last week by Gov. Charlie Baker and a vaccine working group.
The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine doses were packed in dry ice to keep them in a deep-freeze until they are ready to be stored and then distributed. The FDA authorized the use of the vaccine Friday night, with Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine up for the same emergency use authorization Thursday.
Cambridge-based Moderna also announced Friday that the U.S. government has exercised its option to purchase an additional 100 million doses of mRNA-1273, Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate, bringing its confirmed order commitment to 200 million doses.
The arrival of the vaccines comes when the U.S. hit a grim milestone of 300,000 deaths due to the coronavirus — with worries it will get worse before it gets better due to an early winter surge.
“None of our precautions will change, even once a person gets a vaccine,” Vreeland said of masking up and donning personal protective equipment. “And when the Moderna vaccines come, we’ll be ready.”