St. David's HealthCare Gets Coronavirus Vaccine Delivery

AUSTIN, TX — St. David’s HealthCare received the first few shipments of its initial supply of the coronavirus vaccine from the state on Thursday, officials said.

Nearly 3,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine were delivered to St. David’s HealthCare hospitals, officials wrote in an advisory. St. David’s HealthCare will begin administering the vaccine to its employees and medical staff on Friday using a tiered system based on guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Academy of Medicine, officials explained.

Hospital employees and medical staff who are providing direct COVID care and are at the highest level of risk will be in the first vaccination group, according to the advisory. As the vaccine becomes more widely available, hospital officials added, additional hospital employees and medical staff will be offered the vaccine.

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Texas received the first shipment of the Pfizer vaccine on Monday, with four sites receiving 19,500 doses and an additional 19 sites receiving 75,075 doses the next day. Health officials at the time said they endorsed distribution for a second vaccine manufactured by Moderna that a U.S. Food and Drug Administration panel endorsed for emergency use authorization on Thursday, as NBC News and multiple media outlets reported. In all, Texas was allocated 224,250 doses of vaccine to be shipped to 110 providers across the state.

While employees will not be required to be vaccinated, hospital officials noted, infectious disease experts are strongly encouraging vaccination as a critical step to protect individuals from the virus. "Regardless of each employee’s vaccination status, St. David’s HealthCare will continue to enforce all elements of universal protection within its facilities, including wearing a mask, practicing good hand hygiene and maintaining social distancing," hospital officials stressed.

Hospital officials released photos of the vaccine shipment's arrival. See above slideshow to see.