BOSTON (WHDH) – Boston Medical Center received its first shipment of Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine Monday morning.
Healthcare workers unloaded 1,950 doses packed in dry ice and placed them into refrigerated storage within the facility, according to a BMC spokesperson.
“Beginning Wednesday, we will begin the first wave of vaccinations to front line health care workers, a group including doctors and nurses from our ICU and Emergency Department and patient floors that treat COVID-19 patients, but just as importantly, employees from environmental and support services, and other crucial positions that work in COVID-positive patient areas,” the spokesperson added.
The goal is to have a thousand vaccinations complete by the end of the day Saturday.
“We went through thousands of names. We’ve been doing this for weeks, so we could do it carefully,” David Twitchell BMC’s Chief Pharmacy Officer said. “Made sure we know where people were going, and if they were in that space, they could be prioritized.”
The vaccine will be stored in a locked freezer that is set at close to negative 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
Once the vaccines are opened, they are only good for about 6 hours.
“We’ll have a process where we receive a number of doses, we take them out of the freezer, we transport them to the refrigerator, we will be checking the inventory process every day to make sure the amount in and the amount out is the right count,” Associate Chief Pharmacy Officer Joy Vreeland said.
A spokesperson with Tufts Medical Center said they expect to receive their first shipment Tuesday. Massachusetts General Hospital, the Brigham, and UMass Memorial Medical Center are also gearing up for its first shipment.
Shots made by Pfizer Inc. and its German partner BioNTech are the first authorized for emergency use by the Food and Drug Administration — beginning what will become the largest vaccination campaign in U.S. history.
Several other countries also have OK’d the vaccine, including the U.K., which started vaccinating last week.
Gov. Charlie Baker announced last week that healthcare workers, first responders, and long-term care facility staff and residents would be among the first people in Massachusetts to get vaccinated.
President of the Mass. Nursing association, Katie Murphy, said she believes a majority of healthcare workers will opt for the shot.
“We’ve all been so devastated and that everyone has been affected both at work and at home, that I see a little bit more interest in taking it in spite of those concerns,” she said.
The second phase of vaccinations is expected to occur between February and April, with vaccinations being offered to people who are high risk for COVID-19 complications, adults over the age of 65, and those working in early education, K-12, transit, grocery, utility, food and agriculture, sanitation, public works, and public health.
The vaccine will be available to the general public during phase three, which is projected to begin in April.
Vaccine experts say side effects from the shot are “quite tolerable.”
This is a developing story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest updates.
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