At Community, Vaccine Rollout A Light At End Of COVID-19 Tunnel

TOMS RIVER, NJ — In the intensive care unit at Community Medical Center, there's a line of votive candles on the counter of the nurses' station. Each candle bears a name. Men and women. Young and old. All of them patients who died of complications from the coronavirus.

"We had four deaths right in a row just over a week ago," said Theresa Ferretti, who is the administrative director for patient care for the emergency department and intensive care unit at the hospital. "The staff was crushed."

The coronavirus pandemic has created nine months of unending stress for the staff at Community Medical Center, from the doctors and nurses to the respiratory therapists and the housekeeping staff. On Monday, however, there was a sense of relief as the first round of vaccinations for the virus got underway for staff at the hospital.

"It's very uplifting for the staff," Ferretti said. "It has been unrelenting stress since March. We had a little bit of a backoff in August, but people are still getting sick. Staff have gotten sick."

"I think this second wave has been mentally harder," said Patrick Ahearn, chief executive officer of Community Medical Center. One surgeon who's been practicing for 40 years and has had patients die from time to time told Ahearn, "I've seen more patients die in two weeks than I saw in my entire career."

"It's been heartbreaking in many respects," Ahearn said.

That is what led to the votive candles on the counter of the nurses' station; a grief counselor encouraged the ICU nurses to write the names of the patients they remembered most on the candles.

"The staff grow to know and really care about the patients they are caring for," Ferretti said. "It's our only holiday decoration right now."

Ahearn said Community received 975 doses in its initial delivery of the Pfizer vaccine, and is finding that some vials contain six doses instead of five, which could mean as many as 1,200 employees will get vaccinated from this delivery. There are 3,500 employees to be vaccinated, he said.

"If we have enough doses, it should take three to four weeks to get everyone vaccinated" with the first round, he said.

While there have been discussions among the general public of concerns about the vaccine, Ahearn and Ferretti said the response within the hospital has been much more welcoming.

"All the doctors were saying, 'When are we getting the shot.?' " Ahearn said. "That speaks to the science. It speaks volumes to me that all the doctors are jumping on board."

Ferretti, who was the first to receive the vaccination at Community on Monday, said there are some employees who are cautious about the vaccine.

"One of the reasons I chose to sign up for the first available slot was to let them know this is safe," she said. "They are with COVID patients every day. We are seeing people who are very ill. They're concerned about their patients, their families and for themselves."

Ahearn said the vaccinations went to staff from all aspects of caring for the COVID patients, including housekeeping staff, respiratory therapists and dieticians, not just the doctors and nurses.

"The best thing that has happened (during the pandemic) has been the respect for people as part of the team of patient care," he said. "The line really reflected what we’ve done the best in COVID: people put their titles aside and worked together as a team."

Ahearn said he did not get vaccinated on Monday, preferring to wait until staffers have received it.

"I’m not essential. I worry about if there’s a limited number of doses. It needs to go to them," he said. "It's like when you’re serving dinner; you’re usually the last one to eat."

Ferretti said the process is simple, and includes screening for risk factors, including asthma, COPD, are immunocompromised or have had cancer.

"We make sure we know what your risk factors are, whether you've had anaphylaxis to a vaccine or some type of food," she said. There have been a handful of people out of more than 128,000 who had been vaccinated across the United States as of Friday who have suffered significant allergic reactions to the vaccine. Every recipient is observed by a doctor or nurse afterward to ensure they don't have a serious reaction to the vaccine, she said.

The side effects from the vaccination, delivered with a 1-1/2-inch needle, are soreness at the injection site or body aches.

"Most people do not have a reaction," Ferretti said.

"People were saying the flu shot hurt a whole lot more," Ahearn said.

"A lot of people wanted us to take pictures so they could show their loved ones" they had received the vaccine, Ferretti said.

The second wave of patients has been a much wider spectrum of ages, which Ahearn said in part reflects the fact that testing has become more available. In March tests were in such limited supply that only the sickest people were being tested, he said. Now that testing is so readily available, the spectrum of patients is much more diverse.

Ahearn also said that while vaccinations are a bright spot, people still need to be cautious and practice social distancing.

"We're just starting this. We still need to maintain vigilance," he said.

Ferretti looks forward to the day when the staff isn't faced with the relentless strain and heartache that has accompanied caring for patients in the pandemic.

"The challenge for many of my staff is they don't really share much when they go home. They sometimes feel they are very isolated and carrying this on their own," she said, which is why the hospital has provided grief counseling and other programs to help them through it.

"What Theresa has done with her staff is nothing short of amazing. To keep it together is really heroic," Ahearn said.

He's hopeful that the general public will see the front-line health care workers getting the vaccine and start to feel more comfortable about its safety for them, so that when it becomes available in late spring or early summer, they'll get vaccinated too.

"I hope that really gives comfort to those who aren’t sure," Ahearn said. "The end of this may be near. Today is a positive."

"I would encourage every single person who's able to get vaccinated," he said. "I can’t wait for people to be able to hug each other again."

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