Benefis Teton Medical Center employees began receiving their COVID-19 Moderna vaccines on Christmas Eve with Registered Nurse Karin Richins the first to pull up her sleeve and receive the shot from Director of Nursing Penny Smoot.
Smoot said 20 employees were slated to receive the first round of the two-shot vaccination on Dec. 24 with 10 more slated to get the shot on Dec. 28 and Dec. 30. They will all need to get the second shot 28 days later, and each employee who received a shot also got a card specifying when to return for the second shot.
The Moderna vaccination uses messenger RNA (mRNA) to prime the human immune system to recognize the proteins in the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The vaccine is administered in two doses, 28 days apart, and is recommended for people 18 and older.