Lowell General To Receive 1,950 Doses Of COVID-19 Vaccine Tuesday

LOWELL, MA — Officials at Lowell General Hospital expect to receive their first shipment of the coronavirus vaccine Tuesday as front-line workers across the country become among the first Americans to receive the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine.

A Lowell General Hospital spokesperson said Monday that the hospital will receive 1,950 doses Tuesday. The delivery comes a day after a New York nurse became the first U.S. front-line worker to receive the vaccine.

"We will use this first shipment to vaccinate as many staff as we can, as soon as we can," said Will Courtney, a spokesperson for the hospital. "The first group to get the vaccine will be those with close contact with COVID patients – from ICU and bedside nursing staff to environmental services."

Vaccinations will begin on Wednesday. A second dose will be administered about 21 days afterward, said Courtney.

The vaccinations are part of initial U.S. distribution, which will continue into 2021 and will eventually be used to treat the public.

Those who receive the vaccine must be monitored for 15 minutes to monitor any allergic reactions, which is why many hospitals are limiting the vaccinations to about 100 per hour.