Five doctors in Ontario answer the top 10 questions they’ve been asked about the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
December 16, 2020
A healthcare worker prepares to administer a Pfizer/BioNTEch coronavirus disease vaccine at The Michener Institute, in Toronto, Ontario on December 14, 2020. (Photo: CARLOS OSORIO/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
The first shots of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine were administered on Monday in Canada. While it made for a historic moment, the vaccine’s arrival has also resulted in a lot of questions about its efficacy and nationwide availability. The Ontario Medical Association (OMA) hosted a virtual panel on Monday to address the top 10 questions doctors get asked about the vaccine. Moderated by Samantha Hill, OMA president, the panel gathered five doctors to discuss what to expect from the vaccine as it makes its way across the province in the coming days. While these answers are specific to Ontario, much of what they address will be helpful information,
Published Tuesday, December 15, 2020 7:53AM EST Last Updated Tuesday, December 15, 2020 4:04PM EST More than 300 additional health care workers received the COVID-19 vaccine in Toronto Tuesday and officials say that they expect to use up their available supply of the drug by the end of the week. The first five vaccinations against the novel coronavirus to occur in Ontario took place at the University Health Network’s Michener Institute on Monday afternoon, just hours after a shipment of 6,000 doses landed in Hamilton. The province has decided to withhold 3,000 of the initial doses so that anyone being vaccinated now is guaranteed their second dose 21 days later.
Toronto long-term care workers expressed relief and hope as they rolled up their sleeves to receive Pfizer s COVID-19 vaccine at a downtown pilot vaccination clinic Tuesday, the first full day of inoculations.
Eager to remember the historic moment, Limin Liu used her one free arm to hold her mobile phone up in the air and capture a selfie just as the needle entered her arm. I think I m one of the very earliest people to get the vaccine so I m excited, Liu said afterwards as she waited the requisite 15 minutes to be sure there were no adverse effects.
The 48-year-old registered nurse said her employer rented a big bus so that about 20 staff members could receive their shot Tuesday.
Pa. coronavirus update: State hits 500K total cases, nears 13K deaths; Lehigh Valley soon to reach 800 deaths; Bucks County hospital gets coronavirus vaccine | Pa. COVID-19 county case map (12/15/20)
Updated Dec 16, 2020;
Posted Dec 15, 2020
An AMI healthcare worker gives Leroy Kaley, of Shoemakersville, a COVID-19 test in Northampton County on Dec 2, 2020. Pennsylvania reached 500,000 total coronavirus cases on Tuesday, the seventh state to do so, and is near 13,000 deaths.Saed Hindash | For lehighvalleylive.com
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The 9,556 new cases reported Tuesday by the Pennsylvania Department of Health pushed the state to 509,320 total infections since the pandemic was first confirmed in the state in March.
St. Luke’s University Health Network, which has a campus in Mildford, similarly reported its unspecified vaccine allotment comes later this week.
“This is a pivotal moment in our fight against COVID,” said Dr. Jeffrey Jahre, an infectious disease expert and St. Luke’s senior vice president of Medical and Academic Affairs.
“The world has been waiting for this vaccine, and we are on the cusp of being able to provide it,” Jahre added.
Residents of nursing homes and long-term care facilities are among the highest priority receiving the first round of COVID-19 inoculations.
Hospitals won t be in charge of administering the vaccine for those residents, however, as another program is handling that particular population.