Donna Infante knows the injection of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine she received on Friday morning at Monadnock Community Hospital was a small step in getting the coronavirus pandemic under control. But it’s one Infante said was necessary.
Infante, the Director of the Emergency Department at MCH, was on Friday the first of 35 MCH employees to receive their initial dose of the vaccine, which was granted emergency use authorization by the FDA just days earlier. In all, the hospital received 65 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, the remaining 30 of which were given out to staff at another clinic on Monday.
While Infante said deciding to take the vaccine was a bit nerve-wracking simply because it’s so new, she did her research and what put her at ease was the approval of Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and other leading scientists.
“Unfortunately, we have lost too many lives to this pandemic. Everyone has to do their part,” Infante said. “We can’t wait. There are thousands of people dying every day because we can’t control this pandemic.”
And Infante wasn’t thinking about just herself when she decided to take the vaccine, which is given over two doses, 21 days apart.
“I need to keep patients safe, myself safe and my family safe,” Infante said, adding her follow up appointment is already scheduled for Jan. 8. “And this is another tool in the toolbox to defend against this (virus).”
For Monadnock Community Hospital CEO Cyndee McGuire, the first doses of the vaccine finally being distributed to employees is the realization of something that seemed so far away when the pandemic began in March.
“It’s very exciting,” McGuire said. “It’s a historic day, for sure.”
The doses MCH received on Wednesday afternoon, delivered by a NH State Trooper, were among the 12,675 received by the state on Monday.
“There was a formula used by the state to determine our allocation,” McGuire said.
Employees in the first distribution included emergency department nurses, respiratory clinic staff – “people that are right in front of our patients,” McGuire said.
According to McGuire, the hospital had identified 230 employees who met the criteria for Phase 1A distribution for front line clinical staff who provide direct patient care. Others is Phase 1A include first responders and residents of long-term care facilities. McGuire said that a list was sent to state officials last month as they attempted to determine how the first round of the vaccine would be distributed. Phase 1A employees were then categorized into high, moderate and low risk.
“The process we went through was very calculated and prescribed by the state,” said Laura Gingras, Vice President of Philanthropy and Community Relations at MCH.
Previously, McGuire had said she wasn’t expecting MCH to receive enough doses to vaccinate all 200-plus staff members in the first allotment.
“We knew we weren’t going to be able to do everyone on day 1,” she said. “But we anticipate being able to get to all our 1A employees, across all risk categories, by the end of January.”
With only 65 doses available through the initial shipment of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, hospital officials used a “randomized process” to identify who would be among the group to receive the first round of the vaccine.
“We used our ethics committee to determine a fair and ethical way to distribute the vaccine,” McGuire said. Adding that it was spread among many hospital departments and not just one specified area. She said it was done that way in an effort to cross departments and levels of staff, and since there are potential side effects, vaccinating one single department could leave the hospital short-handed in one area.
As the director of the emergency department, Infante comes in contact with a lot of people and she knows getting the vaccine is the right choice.
“I didn’t go into healthcare thinking I wouldn’t be challenged,” she said. “I want to help people and that’s been my mindset all along. This is what’s right for my patients.”
McGuire said the 65 employees vaccinated through the two clinics would receive a second dose after 21 days through future distribution of the vaccine from the state.
“There are a ton of logistics,” she said. “But the state has accounted for that in the process.”
While future distribution from the state hasn’t been clarified yet, McGuire said “we anticipate at least weekly.”
“And we have a plan in place to work through all our staff,” she said.
Gingras said they held another open forum for employees last week to provide the latest information and allow for questions to address any concerns or to provide clarification.
“The better educated they are, the better percentage of folks that do want to get vaccinated,” Gingras said.
Infante said the hospital has been helpful by providing employees with the latest information, and urged people to look at the CDC website to answer their own questions. She said there have been conversations among her staff and said many can’t wait to get the vaccine.
“The ER, we’re the welcoming mat to the facility and you don’t know what’s walking in; it could be anything,” Infante said. And because of that, Infante said they operate under the assumption that everyone who comes in is positive until proven otherwise.
McGuire said there is constant communication both at the state level and within the hospital.
“It’s a tremendous amount of collaboration,” McGuire said.
McGuire said the first clinic on Friday would allow for MCH officials to see how it worked and plan for future vaccinations.
“I’m sure there will be changes,” she said.
But McGuire stressed that the hospital will continue with existing safety protocols around use of personal protective equipment, social distancing and scheduling.
“We’re not changing any of our processes in terms of safety,” she said.
Gingras said that the hospital has a webpage to provide the latest information to the community.
“People are anxious and want to know when they can get the vaccine,” Gingras said. “But there’s still a lot we don’t know.”
While Infante knows her vaccination is just the beginning, it’s also a crucial step in the world’s battle with COVID-19.
“We will get through this. I wish it was tomorrow, but it’s not going to be tomorrow, but we will get through this,” she said.