PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center Chief Medical Officer Lawrence Neville is hopeful that the administration of the first vaccines are âthe beginning of the end of the COVID-19 pandemic.âÂ
The hospital leader, who also serves as chief medical officer for PeaceHealth St. John in Longview, noted that the hospitals have been a forward staging area for the vaccine developed by Pfizer, with first vaccinations administered Dec. 16 for high-risk caregivers.Â
Neville said PeaceHealth initially received 3,900 doses of the vaccine, of which 1,600 were administered in the first four days at PeaceHealth Southwest and close to 600 at PeaceHealth St. John. He said there were 3,400 caregivers who qualified for the highest priority of the vaccine at PeaceHealth Southwest, alongside about 900 physicians. The initial shipment of the Pfizer vaccine would get the hospital close but not completely to the level of vaccination for all of those individuals, which made the prospect of receiving another vaccine developed by Moderna vaccine all the more important.