Newton-Wellesley Hospital To Receive COVID-19 Vaccine Tuesday

NEWTON, MA — Officials at Newton-Wellesley Hospital are expected 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 Newton-Wellesley Hospital spokesperson said she did not know how many doses the hospital would get Tuesday, but that the hospital expected to have enough to cover employees who worked with COVID-19.

"Our goal is to vaccinate as many eligible employees as quickly as possible," said Heidi Wilson, a spokesperson for the hospital. "We will have enough supplies to cover employees who fall within the designated waves."

The news comes a day after a New York nurse became the first U.S. front line worker to receive the vaccine, which received approval from the Food and Drug Administration last week.

Vaccinations will begin at Newton-Wellesley Hospital via an Employee Vaccine Clinic on Thursday beginning with the frontline workers that are currently treating COVID-19 patients.

The vaccine, part of the first phase of the Pfizer roll-out, will be part of initial distribution that will continue into 2021 and will eventually be used to treat the general public.

"Receiving the vaccine is voluntary," said Wilson. "It will be offered to health care workers in designated waves, based on state and federal guidelines."

In the initial wave the hospital plans to vaccinate employees working in areas such as the emergency department, inpatient units, ambulatory settings that provide COVID-19 care and the those working with COVID-19 in the laboratory. Employees working in other areas will be vaccinated in future waves.

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

Jenna Fisher is a news reporter for Patch. Got a tip? She can be reached at Jenna.Fisher@patch.com or by calling 617-942-0474. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram (@ReporterJenna). Have a something you'd like posted on the Patch? Here's how.