Some Beverly Hospital Staff May Get Vaccine As Soon As Wednesday

BEVERLY, MA — The first coronavirus vaccine could be available to front line staff at Beverly Hospital as early as Wednesday, according to Beth Israel Lahey Health.

The health care system that runs Beverly Hospital said in a statement to Patch it expects to receive the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine "in the next day or two" and is planning to begin staff vaccinations the next day.

"A multi-disciplinary BILH Vaccine Command Team has developed a highly coordinated, systematic plan and a consistent set of criteria for administrating the vaccine to our staff and ultimately, our patients over the next several months," said Richard Nesto, Chief Medical Officer and Incident Commander, Beth Israel Lahey Health. "This team has been working with our local teams at Beverly and Addison Gilbert Hospitals."

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved emergency use of the vaccine this week and it was shipped throughout the country on Sunday. Boston Medical Center was the first Massachusetts hospital to receive doses on Monday with hospitals across the state expected to get shipments this week.

"Based on guidance we received from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, we are prioritizing administration of the vaccine to patient-facing clinicians and staff who are at the greatest risk of exposure to patients with COVID-19 based on their work location and the patients they support," said Nesto.

The general public in Massachusetts could receive the COVID-19 vaccine as early as April under a three-phase distribution plan unveiled last week by Gov. Charlie Baker.

The state expects to receive the first 59,475 doses of the Pfizer vaccine by Dec. 15.

The first doses will go to 21 hospitals across eight counties and the Department of Public Health immunization lab, then redistributed to 74 hospitals across the state for front-line medical workers.

The next 40,000 vaccine doses will go to the Federal Pharmacy Program and are earmarked for long-term care facility staff and residents.

More Patch Coverage: MA Vaccine Distribution Plan: General Public Waits Until April

MA Coronavirus Restrictions, Masks May Be Here 6 to 9 More Months