The COVID-19 vaccine arrived in Franklin and Adams counties on Wednesday.
Pharmacists from WellSpan Chambersburg and Waynesboro hospitals were on hand to receive Pfizer s vaccine, according to a news release. Doses of the vaccine were also delivered to WellSpan Gettysburg Hospital.
The first vaccinations are expected to be given on Friday to health care workers who are at the highest risk for exposure to COVID-19. This is in line with the Pennsylvania Department of Health s phased approach.
The vaccine will be offered to all WellSpan employees and patients as more doses become available. It will be a number of months yet before the vaccine is broadly available to the general public.
WellSpan hospitals are among the first 100 in the state to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. In Lebanon, WellSpan Good Samaritan Hospital received its first shipment on Tuesday. WellSpan s Ephrata Community Hospital and two hospitals in York are still to receive their first doses this week.
“The COVID-19 vaccine represents a bright spot for our teams who have tirelessly cared for their friends and neighbors with COVID-19,” said WellSpan Health President and CEO Roxanna Gapstur, Ph.D., R.N. “We are encouraged by the available data, which tell us the Pfizer vaccine is 95 percent effective in lowering a person’s risk for developing COVID-19. Our hope is the vaccination will allow our teams and patients to stay healthy while alleviating the strain on health systems across Pennsylvania.”
At a news conference, state Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine called Monday âa great dayâ as 83 hospitals across the state began immunizing health care workers against the deadly pathogen.
Five UPMC workers in Pittsburgh rolled up their sleeves, receiving the vaccine to applause and cheers. UPMC â which has 90,000 employees in 40 hospitals across Pennsylvania, including UPMC Lititz â received 975 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine Monday morning, said Tami Minnier, UPMCâs chief quality officer.
Pennsylvania is expected to receive 97,500 doses of the Pfizer vaccine this week, state officials announced. More doses are expected to arrive next week.
If Modernaâs vaccine receives FDA approval this week, as expected, Pennsylvania could begin receiving that vaccine next week as well.