Emerson Hospital Begins to Administer Covid Vaccine

December 17, 2020
Emerson Hospital pharmacy staff celebrated the arrival of the first doses of Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine – Click to view the full-sized image

 

Emerson Hospital pharmacy supervisor Craig Vankeueren, PharmD, unpacks the hospital’s first vaccine delivery – Click to view the full-sized image

“Covid-facing” personnel at Emerson Hospital in Concord will begin receiving inoculations of the new vaccine early Thursday and continue over the next week.

This includes not only medical personnel but also any staff members who have “front-line” exposure to known or suspected Covid patients — emergency, inpatient units, intensive care, and, off-campus, urgent care, and testing personnel.

The announcement was made at a briefing Tuesday afternoon by Dr. Barrett Kitch, the hospital’s chief medical officer. He said Emerson is following federal and state guidelines regarding the early vaccine rollout.

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Over the next four to eight weeks, he continued, as supplies are replenished, all of the 2,500 people who work at Emerson or service patients there will be eligible for free vaccination. Hospital CEO Christine Schuster noted that vaccination is not mandatory.

Dr. Kitch prefaced the details on plans for Emerson with a summary of the vaccine’s development, emphasizing the veracity of clinical trials, the factors leading to rapid results, overall safety, prospective immunity, and minimal side effects. The adjective he continually applied to his descriptions was “extraordinary.”

He emphasized that although vaccines are expected to prevent infections and stop them from spreading, health care workers will continue to follow the familiar protocols of wearing masks, physical distancing, eye protection, and hand sanitation.

“Health care workers who are caring for patients with Covid on a daily basis are in a privileged position to get the vaccine,” Dr. Kitch said. He added that they also have a role to reassure and educate the community about the vaccine.

“It really does give a lot of hope,” Schuster asserted. But she still urged residents to avoid big gatherings and employ physical distancing and masking. “We are very confident that the science behind this will help us get to the other side of this horrible pandemic.”

Asked about whether Emerson will have a role in vaccinations for the general public, Schuster said state officials are still developing plans.

Mike Rosenberg can be reached at [email protected], or 781-983-1763
Click this link to learn more about The Bedford Citizen’s first community reporter.


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Katherine Picard
February 6, 2021 6:59 pm

Will EH administer Covid vaccine to patients whose doctors are facilitated with EH?

Editor’s Note: This is a question you would need to ask Emerson Hospital directly.

February 5, 2021 4:25 pm

I am 68 and a non-clinical health care worker, direct COVID-facing care. When can I receive the vaccine at Emerson?

Virginia Albanese
January 27, 2021 7:35 pm

I’m 78 yrs old
When can I get my COVID-19 Vaccine? Please

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