LEHI – The Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine continued to make its way through state hospitals on Thursday as the Moderna vaccine took another step toward approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Intermountain said more than 1,800 health care providers had received the vaccine at their hospitals from Ogden to St. George, and other hospitals had administered the vaccine to their employees for the first time.
“There is an electric feeling in hospitals right now,” said Arlen Jarrett, regional chief medical officer for Steward Health Care. “We all want this pandemic to pass and, you know, life will get back to normal. And I think with the vaccine this is our best chance here.”
There is currently an electric feeling in the hospitals.
–Arlen Jarrett, Health Care Steward
Mountain Point Medical Center joined several other hospitals across the state and administered the vaccine to health professionals routinely exposed to patients with COVID-19 on the job.
“But this goes beyond just our employees. It goes to their families. To those grandparents who haven’t been able to see grandchildren for a long time. This is the beginning of the end of that process,” said Jarrett.
“I think it is a milestone,” said Dr. Kashif Memon, infectious disease specialist.
Memon said most front-line workers seem excited about getting the vaccine. But he also acknowledged that others are concerned about getting the vaccine.
“And that’s my concern, because we want at least 70% of the population to be vaccinated,” Memon said. “That’s the way we can achieve herd immunity.”
The Pfizer vaccine study shows it to be 95% effective. And after two months of monitoring those who received it in the study, it was found to be safe enough for FDA approval.
“These vaccines have been studied in 30 (thousand) to 40,000 patients. And people who think we are the guinea pigs. We are not the guinea pigs,” he said. “It’s already been tested. It’s been proven. It’s safe and it’s effective.”
But questions linger, such as whether the vaccine will protect you from infection or symptoms, and how long the protection will last. Still, for Memon, the question of whether you should get the vaccine is simple.
“I always say, you know, COVID kills, the vaccine doesn’t kill,” he said. “So this is an easy decision.”