Wayne UNC Health Care received 975 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine and administered to five frontline teammates Thursday.
Among the first Wayne UNC teammates to receive vaccinations today were Dr. Terry Grant, Medical Staff Chair and Emergency Medicine Specialist; Dr. Daniel Drotts, Emergency Medicine Specialist; Belinda Soflin, Nursing Director of COVID Unit, Krystal Barrow, Director of Cardiopulmonary/Neurodiagnostics, Karen Jones, Environmental Aide.
“As cases continue to surge here in Wayne County and across our state, it’s important that our teammates who are in closest contact, caring for some of our sickest patients, have the protection of a vaccine,” said Jessie L. Tucker III, Ph.D., FACHE, President & CEO of Wayne UNC Health Care. “We look forward to a time when the vaccine can be made more widely available to our team and our community at large.”
Administration of the vaccine marks a critical milestone in community, state and national efforts to slow the spread of the virus. Clinical trials show the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines to be about 95 percent effective at preventing people from getting sick with COVID-19. However, the Wayne UNC team continues to urge the community to follow the 3 W’s. “We have worked together for the past 10 months to keep our hospital, clinics and community safe. This vaccine is our shot to get back to normal and reconnect with our families,” said Chanda Newsome, Director, Infection Control at Wayne UNC Health Care. “…But it will take time for everyone to have access to it. Just because we have vaccines on the horizon does not mean we can lose our focus now. We must continue to wear our masks, wash our hands, and wait 6 feet of distance whenever possible.”
Vaccinations will continue and more shipments will be received as needed to continue vaccinating teammates in phases defined by the state. If you’d like to learn more about the COVID-19 vaccine, visit the COVID-19 Vaccine Hub at https://www.yourshot.health to get information on science, safety and availability.
