Provided by Sentara Healthcare
Sentara Healthcare received 11,700 doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine on Monday, Dec. 14 just after 7:00 a.m. This vaccine requires two doses spaced three weeks apart. Additional shipments with the second dose of the Pfizer vaccine and an initial shipment of the Moderna vaccine are expected to arrive in the coming weeks.
Sentara is distributing the initial vaccine supply across its Virginia hospitals. Following CDC and Virginia Department of Health (VDH) recommendations, the vaccine is being offered first to healthcare workers who are at the highest risk for COVID-19 exposure. This includes emergency department staff, ICUs, COVID patient units, respiratory unit staff and hospital staff who provide services in these areas (e.g., ESD, food service, staff who go into patient rooms), among others. The vaccine is voluntary for Sentara employees.
Vaccinations
At approximately 2:45 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 15, Sentara began the process of vaccinating frontline healthcare workers starting with several employees at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital. Governor Ralph Northam attended to observe the first vaccination. Both he and Howard Kern, Sentara’s president and chief executive officer, gave a few remarks before vaccines were administered. Tim Jennings, vice president and chief pharmacy officer, narrated the first vaccination being administered to a Sentara frontline employee.
Employee Clinics
Reporting Vaccination Data
Sentara will expand employee vaccination clinics to other priority groups as more supplies become available. Per VDH guidelines, there are five priority groups in phase 1A (phase 1.A.i – Phase 1.A.v). Sentara will move to Phase 1B – other essential workers (exact list still to be defined by VDH) – after all Phase 1A groups have been given the opportunity to receive a vaccine. Sentara does not expect vaccines to be available to the general public until spring 2021.
