Pleasanton Hospital Workers To Receive COVID-19 Vaccines

PLEASANTON, CA — After months of battling the coronavirus and making every effort to save and protect Tri-Valley patients, 975 frontline healthcare workers at Stanford Health Care — ValleyCare in Pleasanton were slated to get their first dose of a vaccine against COVID-19 Friday.

The healthcare workers chosen to receive the Pfizer vaccine were high-risk workers who directly serve patients, have a high risk of COVID-19-related health complications or are at the highest risk of exposure to the coronavirus, according to a news release from Stanford Health Care — ValleyCare. The vaccines delivered to Pleasanton were part of a shipment of 3,900 doses to Stanford Health Care, which predicts all of its health care workers will be vaccinated in two or three months.

“The significance of this day is pretty impactful. It has been a really challenging year for all of us," said Rick Shumway, president and CEO, Stanford Health Care – ValleyCare, in the news release."To me, what this day signals, is a significant step forward in being able to take even better care of our staff, patients, families and community."

Stanford Health Care — ValleyCare said it has worked closely with the Alameda County Public Health Department on logistics such as cold-storage, delivery and security as it prepared to receive doses of the vaccine.

The Pfizer vaccine is a two-part vaccine. Stanford Health Care — ValleyCare said it will be scheduling appointments for workers who receive the first dose Friday.

Vaccinations will be staggered to avoid possible staffing shortages, as the vaccine can cause side effects such as flu-like symptoms, said Lisa Schilling, nurse and Stanford Health Care vice president of quality, patient safety and clinical effectiveness, in the news release.

Dr. Grace Lee, a member of Stanford's vaccine committee, said in the news release that people who have concerns about the safety of the vaccine could find solace in the fact that federal regulators are rigorously reviewing them. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration cleared Pfizer's vaccine for emergency use Dec. 11 after a 44,000-person clinical trial that found the vaccine was 95 percent effective. The trial is ongoing.

“I think it would be normal for any patient to ask me, ‘Are you going to get that vaccine? Will you get your family members vaccinated?’” Lee said in the news release. “If I can answer yes to both questions, hopefully the people who are asking will also feel a sense of trust in the vaccine.”

Check back later to get more details and see images from the initial administration of the vaccine in Pleasanton.