Staff members at Portland s Legacy Emanuel Health Center get the first COVID-19 vaccinations in mid-December 2020.
PORTLAND, Ore. (KTVZ) – With a “3, 2, 1 – go!” and some light applause after, four health care workers at Portland’s Legacy Emanuel Medical Center became the first Oregonians on Wednesday to receive the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, which Gov. Brown called “truly the moment we have all been waiting for.”
The online event also included similar vaccination events at Oregon Health & Sciences University, also in Portland, and Saint Alphonsus Medical Center in Ontario.
“The delivery of safe and effective COVID vaccine brings an overwhelming sense of hope and promise to us all,” Brown said.
Credit Dave Killen / AP
The vaccinations were captured on video and broadcast over Zoom.
At Legacy Emmanuel Medical Center, a radiographer, housekeeping supervisor, and two nurses lined up for their first dose. They’ll get a second in a few weeks. They rolled up their sleeves. And, someone counted down to the moment when they got their shots as photographers snapped away.
Myra Gomez, one of the nurses, delivered a brief message in English and Spanish about why she wanted to be one of the first.
“COVID is disproportionately affecting persons of color, and I would love to lead by example.
by Blair Stenvick • Dec 16, 2020 at 2:09 pm
Dentist Ryan Thrower vaccinates Ansu Drammeh against COVID-19 Wednesday at OHSU. screenshot
Oregonians watched some of the state’s first COVID-19 vaccinations, administered at three different hospitals Wednesday morning, the same way most everything is experienced in 2020: through a grainy, audio-challenged Zoom-based livestream.
At 11 am, a group of frontline healthcare workers at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU), Legacy Emanuel Medical Center, and Ontario’s St. Alphonsus Medical Center received the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine on camera. They included intensive care unit nurses, doctors, and hospital housekeepers. (Technically, this didn t mark the state s first coronavirus vaccinations that occurred at 9 am Wednesday at St. Alphonsus, sans cameras.)