Five Baptist Health Lexington employees receive COVID-19 vaccine on Monday
and last updated 2020-12-15 00:55:15-05
LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) â Five employees of Baptist Health Lexington received the initial dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine on Monday.
Yuli Vallaran (intensivist), Linda Sherlock (housekeeper), Mark Spanier (Medical Doctor), Sharon Shireman (ED Patient Care Technician) and one other employee received the vaccination early on Monday afternoon.
The five employees received the first dose of the vaccine roughly five hours after the shipment arrived to the hospital s loading dock at 9 a.m.
âThis is truly a historical day, a turning point in the pandemic,â said William G. Sisson, president of Baptist Health Lexington. âWe know the vaccine is vitally important to getting back to normal, in our facilities as well as the communities.â
AP photo
A vial of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for COVID-19 sits on a table at Hartford Hospital, Monday, Dec. 14, 2020, in Hartford, Conn.
Health care workers around the country rolled up their sleeves for the first COVID-19 shots Monday as hope that an all-out vaccination effort can defeat the coronavirus smacked up against the heartbreaking reality of 300,000 U.S. deaths.
“Relieved,” proclaimed critical care nurse Sandra Lindsay after becoming one of the first to be inoculated at Long Island Jewish Medical Center in New York. “I feel like healing is coming.”
With a countdown of “3-2-1,” workers at Ohio State University’s Wexner Medical Center gave initial injections to applause.
The weapon that will end the war : First coronavirus vaccine shots given in U.S.
Respiratory care practitioner Raul Aguilar receives the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center in Los Angeles, Monday, Dec. 14, 2020. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Dr. Maggie Hagan, an infectious disease specialist at Ascension Via Christi St. Francis hospital got the second dose of the coronavirus vaccination on Monday, Dec. 14, 2020, in Wichita, Kan. Garrett is a MICU nurse serving in the COVID-19 Unit. Administering it is Aimee Wilson, supervisor, Associate and Occupational Health for Ascension Via Christi. (Jaime Green/The Wichita Eagle via AP)
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Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear announced in a media briefing Monday three Kentucky hospitals have begun the vaccination process. He also announced new guidelines on restarting in-person learning for “red zone” counties.
The first shipments of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine were sent to the University of Louisville Hospital, Baptist Health in Lexington, and The Medical Center at Bowling Green. University of Louisville Chief Medical Officer Dr. Jason Smith was the first Kentuckian to receive the vaccination. Beshear said Monday marked “the beginning of the end” for the battle against COVID-19.
“Now we know the end is in sight. Now we know victory is in sight,” he said. “We ought to recommit to do everything we can to protect one another until everybody can get vaccinated.”