Just hours after the first doses arrived, YNHHS vaccinated its first five people during a press conference: Jonathan Siner, MD, medical director, YNHH Medical ICU; Katherine-Kay Husler, RN, MICU; Mackenzie Kelley, RN, Emergency Department; Terry Naser, Environmental Services; and Onyema Ogbuagu, MBBCh, YNHH Infectious Diseases, and principal investigator, Pfizer COVID-19 trial, Yale Center for Clinical Investigation.
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Yale New Haven Health is closing in on a fast-moving enemy, as thousands of employees and medical staff members receive their first doses of COVID-19 vaccine.
YNHHS has received significant quantities of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines and continues to vaccinate employees in various patient-facing roles. The health system will work to vaccinate employees in non patient-facing roles once patient-facing employees and members of the medical staffs have been vaccinated.
“This vaccine will allow us to fight back,” YNHH President Keith Churchwell, MD, said at a Dec. 15 press conference announcing the health system’s first COVID vaccinations.
Information on the vaccines and YNHHS’ vaccination program is in the online COVID-19 Vaccine Information Center, on the employee intranet.
Key points to remember:
As with other COVID-related efforts, procuring, storing, preparing and distributing the vaccine has involved many people in different departments and roles. Thank you to everyone supporting these efforts, and to those who have been, and will be, vaccinated.
Sarah Kelly, PharmD, system director of Pharmacy (left) and Stacy Vaeth, PharmD, YNHHS executive director of Pharmacy, with a special freezer the department procured to store the Pfizer vaccine at -112°F to -76°F.
TV news crews and newspaper photographers joined Pharmacy leaders and staff on the Park Street loading dock to capture the moment YNHHS received its first COVID vaccine doses Dec. 15.
Pharmacy Procurement staff members (l-r) Daishe Haynes, Casey Bacco, Kasi Brady and Samantha Hannabury witnessed history as the Pfizer vaccine arrived at YNHHS Dec. 15.
Just hours after the first doses arrived, YNHHS vaccinated its first five people during a press conference: Jonathan Siner, MD, medical director, YNHH Medical ICU; Katherine-Kay Husler, RN, MICU; Mackenzie Kelley, RN, Emergency Department; Terry Naser, Environmental Services; and Onyema Ogbuagu, MBBCh, YNHH Infectious Diseases, and principal investigator, Pfizer COVID-19 trial, Yale Center for Clinical Investigation.
YNHHS’ vaccination effort accelerated as more doses arrived. Francena Parker, RN, Occupational Health, vaccinated Phirun Chan, respiratory therapist, at the Saint Raphael Campus Dec. 21. Chan said he cares for COVID-19 patients “every day,” and was happy to get the vaccine.
Nearly eight months pregnant, Eleanor Reid, MD, YNHH Emergency Department, said she felt it was important to be vaccinated to protect herself and her family.
On Dec. 23, YNHHS received its first shipment of the Moderna vaccine. Jaclyn Davis, pharmacy purchasing inventory tech, checked lot numbers before putting it in the freezer. Unlike Pfizer’s, Moderna’s vaccine does not require extremely cold temperatures.
The selfie backdrops at vaccination sites throughout the health system are popular with employees, including Keith Churchwell, MD, YNHH president, who was vaccinated Dec. 25.
Jeff Hocking, Protective Services, checked in employees at one of the York Street Campus vaccination centers. Employees receive an invitation to be vaccinated via email and schedule their appointments via MyChart.
