LEHI – The Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine continued to make its way through hospitals across the state on Thursday, as the Modern Vaccine took a step further toward approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Intermountain said more than 1,800 caregivers had received the vaccine at their hospitals from Ogden to St. Louis. George and other hospitals administered the vaccine to their workers for the first time.
“There’s an electrical sensation inside hospitals right now,” said Arlen Jarrett, regional chief physician at Steward Health Care. “We are all anxious for this pandemic to happen and, you know, for life to return to normal. And I think with the vaccine it’s our best chance here.”
There is an electrical sensation inside the hospitals right now.
–Arlen Jarrett, Steward Health Care
Mountain Point Medical Center joined several other hospitals across the state, administering the vaccine to health workers who are routinely exposed to patients with COVID-19 while working.
“But that goes beyond our employees. It goes to their families. To grandparents who haven’t seen grandchildren in a long time. That’s the beginning of the end of this process,” Jarrett said.
“I think it’s an iconic moment,” Dr. Kashif Memon, a specialist in infectious diseases.
Memon said most front-line workers seem enthusiastic about the vaccine. But he also acknowledged that others have concerns about the vaccine.
“And that’s my concern because we want at least 70% of the population to be vaccinated,” Memon said. “That’s how we can get the herd immunity.”
The Pfizer vaccine study shows that it is 95% effective. And two months of follow-up from those who received it in the study proved it was safe enough for FDA approval.
“These vaccines have been studied in 30 (thousand) to 40,000 patients. And people think we’re guinea pigs. We’re not guinea pigs,” he said. “It’s already been tested. It’s been proven. It’s safe and effective.”
But questions remain, such as whether the vaccine protects you from infection or symptoms and how long the protection will last. However, for Memon, the question of whether you should get the vaccine is simple.
“I always say, you know, COVID kills, the vaccine doesn’t kill,” he said. “So this is an easy decision.”