“While I was walking to get my vaccine, I had just heard that my 27th patient was dying, so it was very emotional to get that vaccine yesterday,” she said.
Briones-Pryor, who has worked in the Covid-19 wings of Louisville hospitals since March, in an interview with CNN’s Dana Bash on Tuesday, shared her experience receiving the vaccine, showing the contrast between the hope the vaccine offers and the grim reality of the vaccine. the continuing spread of pandemic.
Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine was shipped nationwide to hospitals and healthcare facilities this weekend. Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear was present when the first doses arrived at the University of Louisville hospital Monday morning, and was visibly emotional when he called the vaccine “nothing short of a modern medical miracle.”
The hospital was dealing with a medical emergency at the time. Briones-Pryor told CNN that she put a Covid-19 patient in intensive care the day before, and when she left her wing to receive the vaccine, a warning went out that a patient was in need.
“A nurse I spoke to said, ‘I hope it’s not her,’” she said.
‘When I was about to walk off the floor, they said to me,’ Dr. Val, it’s our patient. And while I was walking, they texted me telling me she didn’t make it. “
Briones-Pryor said she appreciated the “hope” the vaccine offered, saying she had no side effects from the injection other than a mild pain in her upper arm. She urged people to stay diligent with social distance, wearing masks, and taking the vaccine when available.
“To really beat this virus, we have to work together, which means we all have to do the right thing,” she said.
‘We have to take care of each other if we want to regain a sense of normalcy. I’m looking forward to that, but we can’t get there alone. We need your help. ‘