By Katie Lannan and Michael P. Norton, State House News Service
December 17, 2020
Katie Lannan and Michael P. Norton, State House News Service
Boston Medical Center pharmacy technical worker William Senior removed two trays of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine, each containing 975 doses, from the box it arrived in Monday morning. Jesse Costa/WBUR photo
As the first Covid-19 vaccines began arriving in Massachusetts on Monday, a 96-year-old World War II veteran in Bedford became the first VA patient in the country to get the shot. The VA Bedford Healthcare system announced the milestone over social media, posting that Margaret Klessens, a resident of the Community Living Center in the Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans Hospital, had received the shot at 12:07 p.m.
Residents of nursing homes, who have suffered a disproportionate share of pandemic deaths, and high-risk health care workers who risk being exposed to the virus every day are expected to begin vaccinations as soon as Monday after Pfizerâs COVID-19 vaccine received emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommended to the Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH) that these groups should receive the first injections.
The vast majority of Americans with no underlying health conditions wonât be eligible for the vaccine until late spring, according to Dr. Karen Landers of ADPH. Until then, the standard public health measures â distancing, masks, avoiding indoor gatherings â remain necessary.
COVID vaccines arrived today at 3 Alabama hospitals
Updated Dec 14, 2020;
Facebook Share
The first doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine arrived at three Alabama hospitals Monday as part of a nationwide rollout to frontline health care workers, according to the Alabama Department of Public Health.
The department would not disclose which hospitals received the first shipments due to security concerns. Cullman Regional Medical Center announced that they had received a shipment Monday morning and would begin vaccinations Tuesday. Twelve more hospitals are expected to receive vaccines Tuesday.
“We will prioritize administration of the vaccine in accordance with the federal and state-approved guidelines that have been provided to us,” said Dr. William Smith, chief medical officer at Cullman Regional Medical Center. “We hope to eventually provide vaccines to all members of our healthcare team; however, we are currently working to vaccinate those frontline team members that are a
Mass. World War II veteran gets COVID-19 vaccine; first VA patient in country
Katie Lannan and Michael P. Norton
State House News Service
BEDFORD As the first COVID-19 vaccines began arriving in Massachusetts on Monday, a 96-year-old World War II veteran in Bedford became the first VA patient in the country to get the shot.
The VA Bedford Healthcare system announced the milestone over social media, posting that Margaret Klessens, a resident of the Community Living Center in the Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans Hospital received the shot at 12:07 p.m.
Andrew Miller, a housekeeper in environmental management service, was the first VA Bedford employee to get the vaccine, at 12:20 p.m.
UpdatedWed, Dec 16, 2020 at 2:39 pm ET
Reply
Some Beverly Hospital staff could receive the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine as soon as Wednesday, according to Beth Israel Lahey Health. (Shutterstock)
BEVERLY, MA The first coronavirus vaccine could be available to front line staff at Beverly Hospital as early as Wednesday, according to Beth Israel Lahey Health.
The health care system that runs Beverly Hospital said in a statement to Patch it expects to receive the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine in the next day or two and is planning to begin staff vaccinations the next day. A multi-disciplinary BILH Vaccine Command Team has developed a highly coordinated, systematic plan and a consistent set of criteria for administrating the vaccine to our staff and ultimately, our patients over the next several months, said Richard Nesto, Chief Medical Officer and Incident Commander, Beth Israel Lahey Health. This team has been working with our local teams at Beverly and Addison Gilbert Hospitals.