Virtua Receives First Round Of Coronavirus Vaccine

Another South Jersey hospital was set to begin administering the coronavirus vaccine on Friday. Virtua Health announced that it has received an initial shipment of 3,000-plus doses of the Pfizer vaccine, and it would begin by immunizing its frontline staff. Virtua anticipates additional shipments every week.

The first teams to receive vaccines are those with the highest inherent risk for exposure to the coronavirus, due to their work. These include teams from emergency medical services (e.g., paramedics and EMTs), emergency departments, and intensive care units.

“This is an encouraging, historic day for Virtua and the South Jersey community,” Virtua Health President and CEO Dennis W. Pullin said. “I’m extremely proud of the extraordinary efforts by so many Virtua colleagues to make today’s vaccine logistics possible. This much-anticipated milestone is exactly the boost we needed to enable us to better protect the lives and health of countless people across our region and beyond.”

Up to 150 health care workers at Virtua were scheduled to receive the vaccine on Friday, officials said. The not-for-profit health system expects to continue vaccinating seven days a week for the next several weeks. This is a two-shot vaccine, given 21 days apart.

“This is a crucial step toward ending the pandemic,” Virtua Executive Vice President and Chief Clinical Officer Dr. Reg Blaber said. “The vaccine is an essential tool to defeat this highly contagious, deadly virus.”

Virtua expects to receive weekly vaccine shipments of about 3,000 doses for the first three weeks, and larger shipments thereafter. This will enable Virtua to begin providing second doses as soon as the first vaccine recipients require them, while continuing to provide first doses to additional people.

“We anticipate that any and all of our 14,000-plus colleagues and extended medical staff who want to be vaccinated will be able to receive their first dose in a matter of weeks,” Pullin said.

Virtua is prioritizing vaccines for entire departments, including all members of those departments — environmental services workers to technicians to physicians and nurses.

The announcement came after Cooper University Hospital received the first shipments of the coronavirus vaccine. The first vaccines were administered on Tuesday. On Friday, health officials said there have been no severe reactions related to the vaccine. Read more here: No Severe Reactions To COVID Vaccine In South Jersey: Officials

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has instructed that health care workers be among the first people nationwide to receive vaccines.

“Health experts agree that we must ‘care for the caregivers,’ so they can stay well and continue caring for the sick,” Blaber said. “As exciting as this is, we cannot let our guard down just yet. All of us must continue to wear masks, socially distance, and wash our hands, to help protect our community and save as many lives as possible.”