LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Robley Rex VA Medical Center is giving its frontline healthcare workers their first dose of the coronavirus vaccine.
The VA Medical Centered received its first limited shipment of the Moderna coronavirus vaccine Tuesday morning and started giving its employees the vaccines in the afternoon. Tuesday was a trial run, according to a hospital spokesperson, with the medical center expected to start full-day vaccinations beginning on Wednesday before taking a break for the holidays. The VA Medical Center is expected to be able to give up to 120 doses each day.
"We're just one pebble at the start of an avalanche and it's going to be so many people getting this vaccine that we'll be insignificant," Christie Lawson, an emergency room physician, said.
The VA said it has around 1,500 employees at Robley Rex with around 900 opting to receive a vaccine at this time, though it expects the number to rise.
"It's been a tough 10 months for myself, my co-workers," Mike Haaker, an emergency department health tech, said. "I've lost people personally and professionally, and this is now light at the end of the tunnel."
Haaker was one of the first four employees to receive the vaccine. A Marine Corps and Army veteran himself, Haaker said he was humbled to receive the vaccine and hopes it will help not only protect him and the veterans he serves at the hospital but also will give his co-workers and clients confidence in getting the vaccine themselves.
"When they see that ER Mike got it - I hope anybody would say, 'Go talk to Mike about it,' and that would encourage them to go ahead and get it," he said.
Respiratory therapist Jim Borries, a retired Air Force and Army veteran, said it was a "pleasant surprise" for him when he received his shot.
"It was so smooth, I barely felt it," he said. "I had a flu shot last month. That hurt. This didn't."
According to the VAMC, it is working on a plan to vaccinate the veterans it serves, with the oldest veterans likely the first ones to receive the vaccine. The VAMC said it is planning on setting up a drive-through vaccination station like it did with flu shots, but the specifics and the time have not yet been set.
The Moderna vaccine will also be used in several hospitals in more rural areas that may not have the ultra cold storage capability required for the Pfizer vaccine.
Both the Moderna and Pfizer vaccine will require a second shot taken at least 28 days later. The federal government is coordinating those shipments, which means the shots
Kentucky is first vaccinating healthcare workers and long-term care residents, but state health officials said it will likely take weeks before they are able to vaccinate every person in those categories. Kentucky is also planning on vaccinating school staff and educators in February.
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