At Hospitals, A Race To Save ‘Hundreds Of Thousands Of Lives’ With New Vaccine

НОВОРОССИЯ.RU
10 Дек 2020, 00:36

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Tim Jennings (foreground) and Jon Horton, officials at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, have been lining up supplies, including dry ice, in preparation for the coronavirus vaccine.

Sarah McCammon/NPR

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The Sentara health system has four of the ultra-cold freezers the vaccine requires, including one obtained through collaboration with a local medical school.

«We usually just deal with freezing temperatures, you know, a typical freezer,» said Tim Jennings, Sentara’s chief pharmacy officer. «That’s why we had to actually go out and acquire a special freezer for this.»

For sites that don’t – there’s dry ice. Jennings opens up a big blue bin, full of it, which resemble white «cheese doodles,» he notes.

There’s little room for error here: the vaccines must be monitored to make sure the temperatures are stable each step of the way. And they’re in short supply right now; the first shipment from Pfizer is expected to include only about 72,000 doses for all of Virginia – a state of more than 8 million people.

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Dry ice will be used to help keep the Pfizer vaccine at ultra-cold temperatures.

Sarah McCammon/NPR

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Sarah McCammon/NPR

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Morin, whose background is as a registered nurse, has to turn CDC guidelines about who should be first in line for the coronavirus vaccine into a real-life plan for her hospital workers.

«A front door to the hospital is the emergency department. You may have a security guard there. They’re patient-facing, they’re forward-facing,» she said. «So it’s the staff – it isn’t just the nurses and the physicians.»

Unlike the flu shot, Sentara officials say the coronavirus vaccine will be optional for staff. Large studies indicate the Pfizer vaccine is about 95% effective with few side effects. But it’s brand new, and convincing people to take it may be a challenge.

The challenge ahead for hospital staff like Tim Jennings is making sure the vaccine is properly stored and administered to those who are willing and able to take the first doses. If and when the vaccine receives federal approval, officials say it could start being given to healthcare workers within days.

«We realize if we do this right, we could save thousands of lives,» Jennings said. «If not hundreds of thousands.»