Some of San Diego’s first nursing home residents to receive a COVID-19 vaccine got their shots Monday, while 20,000 doses of a second coronavirus vaccine from Moderna flowed into the county.
The mood was festive at Birch Patrick Convalescent Center, where Carlos Alegre, 72, was the first resident vaccinated at the nursing home, which is part of Sharp Chula Vista Medical Center. More than a dozen nurses and staff members cheered when Alegre got his shot.
“This means a new chapter and a very happy, exciting moment,” said Dr. Daniel Castro, medical director of Birch Patrick.
The moment didn’t seem to faze Alegre, who insisted that Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine felt like any other shot and that the most notable thing about his day was having to get up earlier than usual to be bathed for the occasion.
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Dr. Andres Smith was Sharp HealthCare’s first frontline caregiver to receive the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. Author: Kerri Lane (Reporter) Updated: 12:24 PM PST December 18, 2020
SAN DIEGO COUNTY, Calif. Sharp HealthCare began administering Pfizer COVID-19 vaccinations to their frontline caregivers Friday.
Dr. Andres Smith, medical director of emergency services at Sharp Chula Vista Medical Center and medical director of global patient services for Sharp HealthCare, was Sharp HealthCare’s first frontline caregiver to receive the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine.
This coming on the heels of a grueling night in the emergency room after one of his physicians tested positive for COVID-19. It was a very tough night, the majority of the patients that I saw were related to COVID. Many of them got admitted to the hospital and a few ended up on a ventilator. So this is as real as it can get, Smith said.
Chula Vista nurse opens up about challenges on the front line
The recent surge in COVID-19 cases across San Diego County is testing local health care professionals like never before with hospital ICU s at or near capacity. Author: Heather Hope (Reporter) Updated: 8:08 PM PST December 18, 2020
CHULA VISTA, Calif. On the frontlines of healthcare, Danisha Jenkins, the director of critical care at Sharp Chula Vista Medical Center says healthcare workers are in a constant balance of trying to manage the ebb and flow of critically ill patients.
“It has been extremely challenging and extremely heartbreaking to witness the suffering,” Jenkins said.