SALT LAKE CITY – Five University of Utah health workers were the first Utahns to receive the COVID-19 vaccine Tuesday outside of a clinical trial.
The vaccination took place Tuesday morning at the University of Utah Hospital. Christy Mulder, a nurse in the intensive care unit, was the first person to receive the vaccine in Utah. U.S. health officials said on Twitter.
Healthcare worker Diana Navarrete, environmental services worker Maria Cuevas, emergency medicine doctor Stephen Hartsell and respiratory therapist Brad Thompson were vaccinated shortly after Mulder.
“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.”
Christy, a UIC nurse at U Health, is the first person in Utah to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. pic.twitter.com/brU0XtRmKs
– University of Utah Health (@UofUHealth) December 15, 2020
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.
Intermountain Healthcare is also scheduled to begin vaccinating workers this afternoon at Salt Lake City LDS Hospital.
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 staff are still getting used to COVID-19 vaccine vials, which are different from what they were used to, Choudhary said.
This story will be updated.
Jacob Klopfenstein