UPMC administers vaccine to front-line workers
Five UPMC front-line employees were the first to receive Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines on Monday morning that was captured via livestream from UPMC Children's Hospital in Pittsburgh.
“This is truly a momentous occasion,” said Tami Minnier, a nurse and chief quality officer at UPMC.
She said Dr. Jonas Salk administered the first polio vaccines 65 years ago just a few miles away from where the first COVID-19 shots were given.
“Dr. Salk took some of these very same steps,” Minnier said.
She said UPMC received 975 doses of the vaccine on Monday morning at UPMC Children's Hospital.
The five doses given on Monday were defrosted and reconstituted per Pfizer instructions before being injected into the left arms of employees.
The first to receive the inoculation from Minnier was Charmaine Pykosh, an advanced care nurse practitioner at UPMC Presbyterian Hospital in Pittsburgh who has worked at UPMC for more than 30 years.
“Now you know to relax your arm,” Minnier said, after sanitizing and covering her hands with latex gloves and pinching the flesh on Pykosh's upper arm.
The 67-year-old nurse practitioner gave the thumb's up after getting the vaccine. Each of the five employees received a round of applause after receiving their dose.
An environmental services worker carefully disinfected the chair where the employees sat between each vaccine.
The five employees will receive another dose in 21 days, and officials are confident they will receive another supply of vaccines for the second dose.
All five employees will return to work using regular virus mitigation methods, such as personal protective equipment.
Dr. Graham Snyder, medical director of infection prevention and hospital epidemiology at UPMC, said all 975 doses of the vaccine will be given immediately to employees who work closely with COVID-19 patients as well as those who have underlying conditions that could cause more severe illness should they contract COVID-19.
The second dose of the vaccine is more likely to cause any side effects that may occur, and those experiencing side effects may find it difficult to work a full shift, Snyder said.UPMC will allow those patients a day or two off if they need it after the second vaccine, he said.Snyder added that studies show 95% of those who received two doses within the proper time frame have demonstrated immunity to COVID-19.While the duration of immunity is not known because the virus and vaccine are so new, Snyder said medical professionals are extremely optimistic.“We're confident that the vaccine is going to provide durable immunity,” he said.UPMC employs more than 90,000 people. Snyder and Minnier are aware that some employees are skeptical of taking such a new vaccine.“We will promote it as safe and effective, and we believe our employees should take it,” Snyder said.The vaccine will not be mandatory for UPMC employees, Snyder said.He said preparing to vaccinate employees was nothing new at UPMC, as the same process was used to receive, prepare and administer the COVID-19 shot as that of the influenza vaccines given every year.Minnier said UPMC already uses deep-freeze technology, so the fact that the Pfizer vaccine must be kept in an extremely frigid climate was nothing new to scientists there.He said the health system purchased a few new freezers to accommodate the Pfizer vaccine, but the doses themselves came at no cost to UPMC.Dr. Sylvia Owusu-Ansah, an emergency department doctor at UPMC Children's Hospital, said she was eager to get the vaccine because African-Americans tend to suffer more extreme illness from COVID-19.“When I was asked to do this, I was extremely excited and extremely honored,” Owusu-Ansah said. “I wanted to share with my community that it's OK; this vaccine is the thing to do.”Pykosh said all of her fellow physician assistants who work with COVID-19 patients want the vaccine. However, via text message, the group elected Pykosh for the honor of being first among them.Manevone “Manny” Philavong, an environmental services supervisor at UPMC Passavant Hospital in Ross Township, said he and his coworkers clean and sanitize COVID-19 rooms and wards every day.“Having the vaccine puts me at ease because I know I have an extra layer of protection, in addition to the PPE we wear,” Philavong said.Snyder said the Pfizer vaccine would be given to those who work in the UPMC hospital and clinics, and the Moderna vaccine to skilled nursing facility residents and employees.“The timing of those vaccines is in flux,” Snyder said.Minnier said distribution of the vaccines is overseen by the state Department of Health. Officials there notify health systems when a shipment of doses is expected to arrive.“We are waiting for information on further doses,” she said.The other UPMC employees to receive the shots on the live stream were UPMC Passavant intensive care nurse Christian Schott and Ja'Ray Gamble, a patient transporter at UPMC Passavant.
