SALT LAKE CITY – Five University of Utah health workers and four Intermountain Healthcare officials became the first Utahns to receive the COVID-19 vaccine on Tuesday.
Vaccines were given Tuesday at Utah University Hospital and Intermountain LDS Hospital. Christy Mulder, a nurse in the U.S. Intensive Care Unit, was the first person to receive the vaccine in Utah. U.S. health officials said on Twitter.
U.S. health care provider Diana Navarrete, environmental services worker Maria Cuevas, emergency medicine doctor Stephen Hartsell and respiratory therapist Brad Thompson were vaccinated shortly after Mulder Tuesday morning.
“Today is an overwhelming day, lots of excitement,” Mulder said during a press conference Tuesday after the vaccines. “I am excited about this next step we are taking to end this painful pandemic.”
LDS Intermountain Hospital workers, Monte Roberts, Amanda Vicchrilli, William Brunt and Sophie Woodbury, received the vaccine shortly after 1 p.m. on Tuesday.
Roberts, who was visibly emotional after being the first Intermountain worker to be vaccinated, said it has been an imposing struggle to see patients affected by COVID-19. The disease affects everyone, young and old, and it doesn’t go away, he said.
Roberts said he was delighted to receive the vaccine not only to protect himself, but also to protect his patients, his family and his community.
“It’s huge because it brings light,” he said during an Intermountain press conference shortly after the vaccine. “We can beat that. We’ll get it together.”
“Herculean effort” to start vaccines
Front-line health workers are the first in line to receive the vaccine this month. Residents and staff at long-term care facilities, as well as teachers, will also be in the first wave of Utahns to be inoculated, health officials said. Approximately 154,000 doses of the vaccine are expected to arrive in Utah this month.
U. senior health pharmacy director Kavish Choudhary on Tuesday described the “Herculean effort” to prepare the vaccine for administration.
The vaccine arrived Tuesday around 7 a.m. in a surprisingly small box, he said. The doses were transported to the U.S. hospital about an hour later and had to be stored in the freezer for another two hours before they could be administered, he added.
“A whirlwind morning,” Choudhary said.
According to Choudhary, about 25-30 more health workers from the U. will be vaccinated on Tuesday. Several hundred more workers will be vaccinated on Wednesday.
On Thursday and Friday, the U. will expand to open a larger vaccination clinic for workers, Choudhary added. These clinics will have 15 people who will administer the vaccine and will be able to vaccinate one worker every 10-15 minutes, he said.
Pharmacy professionals are still getting used to COVID-19 vaccine vials, which are different from what they were used to, so the launch of the vaccine will be more gradual, Choudhary said.
At Intermountain, 50 LDS hospital workers were due to receive doses on Tuesday, said the medical director of infection prevention for employees’ health, Dr. Kristin Dascomb of Intermountain Healthcare. Murray Intermountain Medical Center and Intermountain’s Utah Valley Hospital will also soon receive doses of the vaccine, he said.
“We are grateful to share that hope with our caregivers,” Dascomb said.
The University of Utah Hospital, LDS Hospital, Murray Intermountain Medical Center, Utah Valley Hospital and Saint George’s Dixie Regional Medical Center are the five hospitals in Utah that have facilities. Ultra-cold storage facilities needed to house the COVID-19 vaccine, five facilities obtain the first dose of the vaccine.
Other Intermountain facilities, such as Sandy’s Alta View Hospital, McKay-Dee Hospital in Ogden and Logan Regional Hospital will receive doses someday, Dascomb added.
Healthcare workers appreciate the vaccine
Hartsell said the vaccine was “probably one of the best Christmas presents we’ve ever received.”
“It’s a historic day,” he said.
Mulder said that while death has always been part of working in an ICU, there is something different about COVID-19. It was painful to see the patients suffer for so long.
“That weight feels heavier and heavier over time,” Mulder said. But getting the vaccine gave him a sense of hope, he added.
“It’s really encouraging and it really feels like a lifted weight,” Mulder said. “It’s so special to be a part of it.”
Woodbury, who has worked at LDS Hospital for about five years, said getting vaccinated will help his own mental state.
Up to this point, workers have not been able to offer much hope to COVID-19 patients who have problems, he said. But knowing that there is a vaccine that can help protect people from the disease will allow them to treat their patients with more kindness and hope, Woodbury added.
“Today is a hopeful day,” he said. “I know there will be an end.”
He said he now plans to talk about the benefits of the vaccine and help people make good decisions about how to get it.
“Now I feel a little ambassador,” she said.
Utahns urged to be alert
Utah State Department of Health epidemiologist Dr. Angela Dunn, who chaired the vaccines at the U.S. Hospital and LDS Hospital, said it was hard to believe she attended a conference just a year ago. with federal disease experts on a new coronavirus.
There is a vaccine now, Dunn said.
“This is a huge, momentous day that brings me so much joy and pride,” he said Thursday during the Intermountain press conference. “We have an amazing state that has come together.”
Utah did not experience the rise after the Thanksgiving that many had predicted, Dunn added.
“Today we are in a much better place than I thought we would be,” he said.
That said, Utah is heading into another holiday season and the colder months are ahead, Dunn said. And while Utah hasn’t had a big post-Thanksgiving increase, the state continues to report about 2,000 cases a day, which are too many, he said. The counting of cases in this range means that hospitals are still in condition.
So now it’s more important than ever to keep wearing masks, distance yourself socially, stay home when you’re sick, and practice all the other public health measures officials have recommended throughout the pandemic, Dunn said.
At least 50% of Utahns need to be vaccinated to have an effect on stopping the spread of COVID-19, and an inoculation rate of 70-80% is more ideal, Dunn said. Vaccines are not expected to be widely available to the general public until the summer of 2021, so he urged people to remain vigilant about preventing the spread of the disease in the meantime.
“There’s light at the end of the tunnel, we’re not there yet,” Dunn said. “It’s so important that we continue to put our cases aside.”
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Jacob Klopfenstein