CHI St. Joseph Health received their first shipment of the Moderna vaccine Wednesday and began administering it to health care workers.
According to St. Joseph’s news release, CDC and state guidelines are being followed for vaccine prioritization…which includes health care workers who are at higher risk due to where they work as well as other factors.
News release courtesy of CHI St. Joseph Health:
St. Joseph Health today received their first shipment of the Moderna vaccine and began administering it to health care workers this afternoon.
“Today is a day of hope for all of us as we receive the first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine and prepare to begin administering them,” said Theron park, president, St. Joseph Health. “We hope to be able to gather with our family and friends again soon and that people’s lives and livelihoods will be restored. We see this historic day as the beginning of the end of the pandemic.”
Health care workers will receive the vaccine first, as outlined by federal guidelines, in order to ensure health systems are able to continue to provide care through the pandemic and beyond. St. Joseph Health is following CDC and state guidelines for vaccine prioritization which includes health care workers who are at higher risk due to where they work as well as other factors.
At St. Joseph Health, safety is our priority, and we only administer vaccines that the FDA has recommended as safe and effective. While there are always unknowns when a new vaccine is developed – including duration of protection, long term safety, or how the vaccine might respond to virus mutations in the future – there are enough data available to know that the vaccine being offered is safe and should be encouraged.
For more information, visit https://stjoseph.stlukeshealth.org/covidvaccine.