Local hospitals sharing COVID-19 vaccination plans
SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - Memorial Health says they are still waiting for a date and total amount of doses they will receive of the COVID-19 vaccine, but will be ready.
Leaders at Memorial say they are in standby mode waiting to find out when the state will send out the first shipment of COVID-19 vaccines for healthcare workers.
“What an amazing thing that we can be in this moment and be talking about a vaccine before a pandemic that began close to just ten months ago. Really amazing and a testament to what can happen when we put all of our resources together,” said Dr. Stephen Thacker, Memorial Health Associate Chief Medical Officer.
Dr. Stephen Thacker says this vaccine has undergone the same safety standards as other vaccines and while it’s happening quick it’s because of a focus on the need for something fast. He says Georgia is expecting to get 84,000 doses of Pfizer’s vaccine when approved, but how much Memorial gets is still unclear though they do expect allotments weekly.
“As far as the strategy to deliver it we’re using a tiered process that looks at not only the risk of possible exposures related to where you work in a hospital, but also keeping in mind who is so critical to the functioning of just the care of patients whether you have covid-19 or not. We are going to prioritize those individuals.”
While they did not give a specific number for how much vaccine they requested, Dr. Thacker says they have about 3,000 team members and did place a request to serve the community after phase one. The vaccine will not be mandatory for Memorial staff, but say it is encouraged and will be given much like the flu shot, in a staggered approach.
“We have been really in overdrive since it was announced that the Pfizer vaccine and Moderna vaccine were going to be up for EUA review. Right cause we can’t provide the vaccine and can’t build a plan around until we know it’s going to be reviewed and so from a standpoint of readiness we are in a state of being prepared to deliver this on Monday if we receive the vaccine and so you know if it’s later than that we’ll be ready when that time comes as well.”
Dr. Thacker says while this first round of vaccine is historic and critical to keeping our healthcare workers safe through the pandemic, it does not solve the problem.
In fact, he says we will need to continue to be diligent following public health guidelines until full herd immunity is reached which will take nearly 75 to 80 percent of the population vaccinated.
St. Joseph’s/Candler says if approval comes soon, they expect to have the first shipment by December 15 and will begin vaccinating on the 16.
“How excited we are that we’re even having this conversation I mean this has been nine months of a daily hurricane,” said Paul Hinchey, CEO of St. Joseph’s/Candler Health System.
Leaders at St. Joseph’s Candler say they aren’t sure how much they will get in their first delivery expected next week, but they hope to have their 4,500 employees vaccinated within about three weeks. They’ve been planning for months.
“That’s why we started in September to figure this out so we could breathe when it finally hit and it’s going to go down fast.”
They will vaccinate staff in a tiered system with patient care staff first, then those with limited patient interaction, and last with those employees who are non-clinical. They say they will stagger the vaccine administration in case of side effects, so no department is understaffed and monitor them. The first shipment will likely be Pfizer which must be kept at a low temperature creating some logistical planning.
“That means you have got to have everybody lined up in a que because once that thing gets put on that table you’ve got a very short shelf life, so we spent weeks and weeks figuring out how to do that.”
St. Joseph’s/Candler will not require the vaccine for staff but are working to raise awareness about it and the CEO says he will be getting one when it’s his turn.
“We’re very, very excited that we have an opportunity to get it, but we are also still very focused that we’re not out of the woods yet and we’re not going to be out of the woods probably until the end of the spring.”
Paul Hinchey says they do plan to administer the vaccine to 4,000 first responders, police, fire ems and even the port employees. While it’s a big task they are ready and up for it.
Copyright 2020 WTOC. All rights reserved.
