A sense of excited anticipation hung in the air early on the morning of December 15. San Juan Regional Medical Center had received notice that the long-awaited Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine was on its way. Our Incident Command team, along with key staff in our Pharmacy and Nursing Administration, has spent weeks behind the scenes preparing for the vaccine’s arrival in order to ensure safe and effective storage and deployment to our caregivers.
Marcus Appleton, registered nurse and clinical educator, holds a vial of the COVID-19 vaccine.
“I am very humbled by the speed and efficiency that has brought this vaccine to us,” said Clinical Scholar and Nursing Education Manager Trish Maule. “This is something we desperately need and I am thankful that our hospital has the infrastructure to be able to offer the vaccine to our caregivers this early.”
“A lot of heart and soul has gone into getting this here, done by many, many people throughout the whole healthcare network and government. I am just so appreciative of all the work everybody has done,” Pharmacy Manager Mark Winters said.
Inventory Control Coordinator Marc Rasmussen, left and Pharmacy Manager Mark Winters transports the COVID-19 vaccine.
The pharmacy team had to procure an ultra-cool deep freezer to handle the extreme temperatures needed to store the vaccine. Once the shipment arrived at San Juan Regional Medical Center, complete with GPS monitoring and lots of excitement, the pharmacy team had to act fast. The pizza-like box, filled with 195 multi-dose vials for a total of 975 doses, had to be stored in the freezer within five minutes.
Pharmacy Manager Mark Winters unpacks the COVID-19 vaccine.
Just a few hours later, the first doses of the vaccine were thawed out and ready to be administered to our frontline caregivers. Nurses Benjamin Stamets, who works in the COVID ICU, and Caleb Blair, who works in the Emergency Department, were ready.
Emergency Room Nurse Caleb Blair receives the COVID-19 vaccine.
“I’m excited, I’m proud to do my part for the organization,” Stamets said.
“I’m totally confident in the science behind this vaccination and I’m actually thrilled and honored to be a participant in the first round of vaccinations,” Blair added. “I feel like the first round of this vaccination is the first major battle in a large war.”
Megan Hatch, professional resource team registered nurse receives one of the first COVID-19 vaccines.
While the vaccine has certainly brought a lot of hope, Director of Emergency Preparedness and Emergency Medicine physician Dr. Brad Greenberg says it’s important that everyone remain vigilant and stay the course by continuing COVID-safe practices such as handwashing, mask wearing and social distancing.
“It’s going to be some time before we see the population-based effects of the vaccine. So while we all hope that this does make a big difference and could represent something that contributes to the waning of the COVID 19 pandemic, it’s really important for all of us to stick to our self-discipline and encourage our friends and family members to stick to COVID-safe practices so we can navigate what is hopefully the beginning of the end of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
No matter what the future brings, everyone can agree on one thing.
“This is monumental, this is history,” Maule said. “Our grandkids and great grandkids will all know about this day when this wonderful vaccine became available in San Juan County.”