ASHEBORO – Last week, the Food and Drug Administration granted Emergency Use Authorization of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. Today, Randolph Health received a first shipment of the vaccine containing 975 doses.
“We have been anticipating the arrival of the vaccine, and have been hard at work developing safe processes to ensure that we keep our staff and the vaccine safe,” said Angela Orth, CEO, Randolph Health. “Following state and federal guidelines, we have identified staff that are at the highest risk for infection and those staff members will be offered the vaccine following the Phase 1a implementation.”
Those staff members were defined as those caring for COVID-19 patients, cleaning areas where COVID-19 patients are admitted, performing procedures at high risk of aerosolization (e.g., intubation, bronchoscopy, suctioning, invasive dental procedures, invasive specimen collection, CPR), handling decedents with COVID-19, and administering vaccine in initially closed or targeted vaccination clinics.
Staff eligible to receive the vaccine during Phase 1a implementation have been notified through email by the State of North Carolina’s COVID-19 Vaccine Management System (CVMS).
“While the vaccination is not mandatory, we are hopeful that eligible staff will consent to the vaccine. We are anticipating giving immunizations starting tomorrow to eligible staff,” said Orth.
As has been noted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other experts, there are several benefits to receiving the vaccine including:
- It will help keep you from getting COVID-19.
- It will be a safer way to help build protection.
- It will be an important tool to help stop the pandemic.
“This is an exciting time as we begin to slow and ultimately end this pandemic and I want to acknowledge and thank our dedicated staff that continue to provide high-quality care each and every day,” said Orth.
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