UPMC administers first COVID-19 vaccines; Mon Valley Hospital receives shipment
Charmaine Pykosh, left, an acute care nurse Practitioner in the surgical intensive care unit at Children’s Hospital, receives the first Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine distributed at UPMC. The hospital’s Chief Quality Officer, Tami Minnier, right, administered the shot.
Dr. Sylvia Owusu-Ansah, an emergency medicine physician and assistant director of Pittsburgh’s EMS, was among the first five frontline health-care workers at UPMC to receive the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine Monday morning.
Douglas Prentice, Monongahela Valley Hospital’s storeroom manager, left, takes delivery of one of Western Pennsylvania’s first shipments of COVID-19 vaccine from UPS employees Bryan Johnson, center, and Stephen Burdelski in this mid-December file photo.
Help has arrived in Pittsburgh.
Five frontline health-care workers at UPMC Hospital, Pittsburgh, received Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine Monday morning.
“This is truly a momentous occasion,” said Tami Minnier, UPMC Chief Quality Officer, who administered the shots at 11 a.m. “They are my personal heroes, and they have worked tirelessly at the front line taking care of our communities.”
The employees included a doctor, two nurses, a transporter, and an environmental services supervisor.
First to receive the vaccine was Charmaine Pykosh, an acute care nurse practitioner in the surgical intensive care unit at Children’s Hospital.
Her co-workers selected Pykosh, who has more than 30 years experience, to receive the vaccine first.
“My heart was pounding. I couldn’t sleep,” said Pykosh, who gave a thumbs-up when she received the shot. “I’m very honored.”
The employees will receive a second dose in 21 days.
Pykosh added that she will continue to wear a face mask, social distance and wash her hands.
Dr. Sylvia Owusu-Ansah, an emergency medicine physician and assistant director of Pittsburgh’s EMS, also received the vaccine.
She said she wanted to set an example, especially for the African-American community that has been hard-hit by COVID-19.
“I wanted to share with my community that this vaccine is the thing to do to keep us safe, to keep us healthy, and to keep us alive,” said Owusu-Ansah.
She also wants to protect her family, including her husband and her two young daughters who live in Boston, and the community she lives and works in.
About 975 doses of the Pfizer vaccine were delivered by a UPS van that arrived at UPMC Children’s Hospital at about 9:30 a.m.
Pennsylvania Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine said on Monday that Pennsylvania is set to receive 97,500 doses this week that will be shipped directly to 83 hospitals across the commonwealth.
Monongahela Valley Hospital was among the hospitals to receive the COVID-19 vaccine on Monday.
“We are thrilled that Monongahela Valley Hospital is at the forefront of helping to put a stop to the spread of this virus,” said Louis J. Panza Jr., president and CEO. “Since the pandemic began, we have been vigilant to provide our staff with the proper personal protective equipment and to maintain a clean and safe environment. Having the ability to immunize our staff and physicians is another key action in keeping our community safe.”
The hospital cautions that until the vaccine is widely available to the public, people should continue to practice social distancing, wear masks and wash their hands.
Allegheny Health Network expects a supply of the vaccine at all of its hospitals this week, but is awaiting additional details.
Washington Health System, too, is waiting for a delivery date. The health system is prepared to store and administer the vaccine, starting with its frontline health-care staff.
In all, nearly 3 million doses – packed in dry ice to maintain an ultra-cold temperature – are being shipped throughout the country by truck and plane from Pfizer’s factory in Michigan.
Levine said the vaccine is “a new chapter in this fight” against the novel coronavirus.
“It’s tremendously exciting,” said Levine, adding that “mitigation now is more important than ever during these winter months.”
The good news comes as the death toll in the United States nears 300,000 and the country posts new records for cases, hospitalizations, and deaths.
The general public likely won’t be vaccinated before the spring, she said.
Pennsylvania will receive additional shipments in upcoming weeks, but Levine did not know exactly how many doses would be included in those future shipments.
If it gets emergency-use authorization, Moderna’s vaccine could also be shipped out across the commonwealth next week, according to Levine.
Frontline health-care workers and residents of long-term care facilities will be among those who get their first doses of the vaccine by the month’s end.
Dr. Graham Snyder, medical director of infection prevention and hospital epidemiology at UPMC, hailed the vaccinations as “a watershed moment” and “reason for great hope and confidence.”
He referenced the unprecedented speed of the development, production and distribution of the vaccine, and noted that other COVID-19 vaccines are in the works.
“Together, with masking, distancing and therapeutics, I think we’re starting to see the beginning of the end,” he said.
UPMC will not require employees to get the vaccine, as it does for the flu shot, but is encouraging them to take it.
The Pfizer vaccine is about 95% effective in preventing sickness after the two doses are administered. The Moderna vaccine has shown similar results.