BOSTON (WHDH) - Frontline workers at Tufts Medical Center are set to be among the first people in Boston to get the coronavirus vaccine.
Tufts and other area hospitals received their first shipments of Pfizer’s vaccine Tuesday morning.
NOW: first #Covid19 vaccine vial opened @TuftsMedicalCtr. It will provide 5 doses for 5 healthcare workers. #7news pic.twitter.com/KVdr4rY3ZF
— Kimberly Bookman (@KimberlyBookman) December 15, 2020
Boston Medical Center was the first hospital in the city to receive their shipment Monday.
Nearly 2,000 doses were placed into a locked freezer to prepare for their first wave of vaccinations scheduled for Wednesday.
BMC’s vaccinations will go to doctors and nurses working in the intensive care unit, emergency department, and floors that treat COVID-19 patients, along with employees from environmental and support services that work in COVID-positive patient areas, a spokesperson said.
Katie Murphy, the president of the Massachusetts Nurses Association, believes the majority of those workers will opt for the shot.
“We are encouraging our members to take the vaccine,” she said.
Murphy added that healthcare workers are cautiously optimistic that this vaccine can make a difference.
“We’ve all been so devastated, that I see a little bit more interest in taking it in spite of those concerns,” she continued.
Margaret Klessens, a World War II veteran, became the first VA patient in the country to get the vaccine.
She was vaccinated by the VA Bedford Healthcare System.
Other hospitals that have received or are receiving vaccines this week include Massachusetts General Hospital, Lawrence General Hospital, UMass Memorial Medical Center, Melrose-Wakefield Hospital, and South Shore Hospital.
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