‘V Day’ arrives at Lexington Medical, Prisma Health as first COVID vaccinations given
Lexington Medical Center and Prisma Health are among 15 health care systems across South Carolina that have received shipments of Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine and begun administering it to hospital staff.
Prisma Health announced Tuesday it had received 9,750 doses of the vaccine and Lexington said it had gotten nearly 3,000 doses at its West Columbia campus.
Both health systems said they had started to vaccinate employees Tuesday.
“The arrival of the COVID-19 vaccine is a historic moment for Lexington Medical Center, our community and the world,” Tod Augsburger, president & CEO of Lexington Medical Center, said in a statement. “We’ve been anxiously anticipating this monumental day and hope it signifies a turning point and the beginning of the end of this global pandemic.”
The state and enrolled medical providers will have received all 43,000 of its initial shipment of vaccine doses by Wednesday, the state Department of Health and Environmental Control said. Thereafter, vaccines will be shipped to the state on a weekly basis with between 200,000 and 300,000 doses anticipated to arrive in South Carolina by year’s end, according to the agency.
Lexington Medical Center received its initial allotment of 2,925 doses at 9:30 a.m., and began administering them to employees shortly after 3 p.m.
Nurse Ethan Rucker was the first to get stuck.
“I didn’t even feel it,” he said after a colleague pricked him while cameras rolled.
Rucker, who has worked on the hospital’s COVID-19 ward since the start of the pandemic, said the grind has been stressful.
“We deal with the sickest of the sickest,” he said. “We make it through as best we can.”
But he takes pride in being able to help people who are isolated from their families in even more trying conditions.
“I’m gowned up for several hours a day, and then when I’m off, I’m updating family members,” he said.
Lexington Medical Center will prioritize distribution of its limited supply of vaccine to employees based on the extent to which they come in contact with COVID-19 patients and would stand to benefit from being vaccinated, the hospital said.
The hospital also plans to distribute some of its first shipment of vaccine to local first responders, said Roger Sipe, senior vice president of operations.
Sipe said the hospital had reached out to local municipalities to get a sense of which ones might have police officers, firefighters or EMS workers interested in being vaccinated.
He said the hospital hopes to begin vaccinating patients in about six weeks, during the second phase of the vaccine rollout.
Prisma Health on Tuesday also began administering the vaccine to hospital staff in the Midlands and Upstate.
The hospital system will begin by offering the vaccine to workers who see coronavirus patients every day, including those who work in COVID-19 units, intensive care units and emergency departments. Members of Prisma’s ambulance crew and its staff that performs COVID-19 testing also will be among the early vaccine recipients.
Steve Shelton, an emergency department physician and COVID-19 incident commander for the Midlands, said he hoped Tuesday, which he referred to as V-Day, would mark “the beginning of the end” of the coronavirus pandemic.
Shelton, who addressed members of the media on a video call Tuesday afternoon, said he had full confidence the vaccine was safe and effective, but that just because he’d been vaccinated did not mean he could cease taking preventive measures.
Helmut Albrecht, an infectious disease physician and director of infectious disease research and policy for Prisma, reiterated that point, saying that nobody should get lax about wearing masks, washing their hands or social distancing.
“This is not going to replace all of the other things that we’re doing,” Albrecht said. “This will work in tandem with those.”
According to South Carolina’s vaccination plan, front line medical workers and residents of long-term care facilities will be the first populations in the state vaccinated.
Others who are at increased risk of contracting the virus or are at high risk of experiencing severe complications from it will be prioritized for vaccination next, followed by the general public.
Dr. Mitchell Nimmich, who also received a shot on Tuesday, said he hoped the vaccine rollout is the “beginning of the end.” Nimmich encouraged those hesitant about the vaccine to get one as soon as they become available to the general public.
“The Pfizer study was huge. We know this is 95% effective,” he said. “The more who get it the better... We wanted to do as many as we can upfront.”
Both Nimmich and his wife Elizabeth, also a doctor at Lexington Medical Center, have been very careful for the past nine months, especially with their two young children.
“As soon as we get home, we get rid of the scrubs, go in the shower,” he said. “(But) seeing patients leave here well is why we do this. There’s a light at the end of the tunnel.”
Rucker, the nurse who has seen the effect the virus has had on so many families, said he hopes anyone nervous about the vaccine will be reassured that medical professionals are the first ones lining up to receive it.
“Learn from reputable sources,” Rucker said. “Do your research. Talk to someone in health care... I’m very happy that we’ll be taken care of.”
DHEC has not set firm time frames for each phase of vaccine distribution, but has said it will make South Carolinians aware when the vaccine is available to them.
The agency said the initial distribution phase, which is focused on preventing deaths and protecting medical professionals, could last several weeks or months, depending on the supply and demand of the vaccine.
In the meantime, state health officials have advised South Carolinians to continue wearing masks, keep safe distances from others, avoid congregating indoors and get tested for COVID-19.
“Together, with our federal, state and local partners, DHEC is committed to ensuring that everyone who wants to receive vaccine in South Carolina will eventually be vaccinated,” state epidemiologist Linda Bell said in a statement Tuesday. “However, the number of doses is currently limited in South Carolina, like in all states. That’s why we are calling on all South Carolinians to step up by stepping back, to ensure the most vulnerable among us and those who keep us alive are vaccinated first.”
This story was originally published December 15, 2020 at 2:07 PM.
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