Newman Regional Health has its first coronavirus vaccines now in hand.
The hospital received 160 doses Wednesday afternoon. Those will go to frontline medical workers. Employees will start receiving vaccinations as soon as 7 am Thursday, with appointments continuing into Friday.
Before receiving the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines, NRH separated its employees based on the amount of direct care they offer COVID-19 patients or those “at high occupational risk” for exposure. Anyone who has tested positive for the virus needs to wait 90 days before getting vaccinated. Those receiving the Pfizer vaccine will also need a second dose in three weeks.
Additional doses of the Pfizer vaccine should come to the hospital next week and will go to healthcare workers and, possibly, long-term care facilities. Plans for receiving the Moderna vaccine, which is still awaiting emergency use authorization from the federal government, will be announced later.
Director of Business Development McKenzie Cinelli will have more information on KVOE’s Newsmaker 2 segment Thursday.
Greenwood County Hospital in Eureka started vaccinating workers Wednesday. As is the case at Newman Regional Health, Greenwood County is starting by vaccinating frontline workers. The hospital did not say how many vaccines it received. It’s also not saying how long this initial vaccination period will last.
