First COVID vaccines arrive in Bureau County

PRINCETON — Perry Memorial Hospital was abuzz Wednesday afternoon with the arrival of the first round of the COVID-19 vaccine.

The Pfizer vaccine was delivered to the hospital by leaders of the Bureau County Health Department and rolled on a cart to the fourth floor of the hospital where it was carefully and quickly unpacked in an empty clinic office set up temporarily for the administration of the vaccine to frontline workers.

Perry was allotted 110 vaccines during this first round. Bureau County was one of 50 counties in the state to receive the first rounds of the vaccine. This is due to its high rate of deaths per capita.

The first in line at Perry to receive the vaccine were Baylee Tillman, who conducts testing in the COVID drive-thru clinic at the hospital, and Dr. Chris Blanford, who received the vaccine from his mother, Kathy Blanford, Perry’s infection control nurse.

Both healthcare providers were in good spirits when receiving the vaccine and reported they felt no stinging or burning when the vaccine was administered.

Perry had plans to vaccinate 60 workers on Wednesday and 50 on Thursday. It was a time crunch to get every dose used before it expired due to temperature control.

In three weeks, the second and final dose of the vaccine with be administered to those healthcare providers who received it this week. In the coming weeks, Perry also expects to receive doses of the Moderna COVID vaccine for its healthcare providers, as well.

The first healthcare workers to receive the vaccine are those who have the most contact with COVID patients — those working the emergency room, acute care, intensive care unit, ambulatory care, x-ray, hospitalist, environmental services, which are those employees responsible for keepings rooms cleaned and sanitized following a COVID patient’s stay.

“It’s our goal to get as many people vaccinated,” Kathy Blanford said during an interview this week about the vaccine.

About 75% of Perry’s staff have already agreed to the vaccine, which Blanford said is a good percentage at this point.

This last month has been filled with plenty of education being give by Perry’s COVID team, which includes Blanford and Angel Eisenberg, Perry’s occupational health nurse.

Whether it’s been through email communication or face-to-face instruction, Eisenberg has met with nearly all staff members to inform them of what to expect with this vaccine.

“We’ve done as best we can to educate people in the short amount of time we had for the vaccine,” Blanford said.

“A lot of people changed their mind and wanted the vaccine once their questions were answered,” Eisenberg added. “There is some hesitation and a few people who have read social media reports or articles about the side effects, and we've done a lot of education to mitigate that false information.”

Eisenberg said the majority of employees are excited for its arrival and have a lot of interest in the solution to this pandemic.

Side effects of the vaccine has been the focal point of the discussions. Blanford stresses that side effects like low grade fever, body aches or a sore injection site are signs that the injection is working and the body is beginning to build immunity to the virus.

“It’s a normal response. It’s a message to your body saying, ‘Hey, lets soldier up.’ These are reactions we almost want people to have because then we know it’s working,” she said.

And while there’s a list of possible side effects out there, Blanford said most people have only reported one or two side effects at a time.

Ongoing research has yet to determine if this vaccine will be administered once or if it will be needed yearly to keep COVID at bay.

Eisenberg and Blanford are hopeful that by springtime, the vaccine will be open to they community. Blanford said it’s a worldwide goal to have 70% of the population vaccinated by June. If that happens, it will be a big step towards eradicating this virus.

Community education efforts will be put out to urge people to get the vaccine when it becomes readily available. It’s already been determined that the vaccine with be administered at the Bureau County Fairgrounds. Blandford urged that it’s the Bureau County Health Department who is working on the vaccination program, not Perry Memorial Hospital, although they plan to partner with the health department when administrating the vaccines.

“It’s been a wonderful collaboration and partnership with the health department,” Blanford said, praising the efforts of all the staff members she’s worked with since the start of the pandemic.

Questions about the vaccine can be found on the Bureau, Putnam, Marshall County Health Departments website. Questions about the vaccine should be directed to the health department at this time, not Perry Memorial Hospital.