The first dose of the authorized COVID-19 vaccine at Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital was administered to a healthcare worker Thursday.
At a small press briefing at Henry Mayo in Valencia Thursday, the coronavirus vaccine was administered to Kathy Brady, a nurse with the hospital Intensive Care Unit (ICU) who has been caring for COVID-19 patients in Santa Clarita since March.
“I’m really pleased that our clinical leaders on the front lines are ready to be vaccinated, and really serve as a great example for the community. This is a very important part of the war that they are fighting everyday, and they want to see it come to an end,” said Henry Mayo CEO Roger E. Seaver. “Physicians, nurses, technicals, support staff, everybody’s lining up for the vaccine and we look forward to the results.
Brady is the first of many Henry Mayo employees to take the first dose of the vaccine, the second of which is due to be administered in three weeks.
“I jumped on (the opportunity) because I’d been working in the COVID department since March, it’s been a grueling nine months of work in this environment,” said Brady. “But I think any of the nurses they would have asked would have jumped at the opportunity.”
Upon being asked if she was concerned about the potential of experiencing an allergic reaction to the vaccine, Brady stated “the benefit of the vaccine far outweighs any risk,” and that she hoped that this first vaccine would pave the way for a life after COVID-19.
“It’s an honor, and hopefully it’s just the beginning of a legion of people here getting it, and leading to the public getting it,” Brady said. “Hopefully we get this thing behind us.”
Jade Aubuchon/KHTS News
According to pharmacist Courtney Mattley, who administered the vaccine Thursday, the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is kept in cold storage, then must be used within five days of being thawed and diluted with saline before injection. After dilution, the vial must be used within six hours.
The tiny vial holds about five full doses of the vaccine, each at about 0.3 milliliters. However, some health professionals discovered they could squeeze out six or seven doses once the diluting agent has been added.
“This vial states that it’s good for at least five doses, and potentially six. If we can get six doses out of each vial we definitely will,” said Mattley.
Henry Mayo Spokesperson Patrick Moody cautioned that although the vaccine is now available to healthcare workers, this was not an excuse for the public to be less vigilant in their work to prevent the spread of COVID-19, especially in the face of higher hospitalization, death, and case rates.
“We (have) had a vaccine for months. It’s 50% to 70% effective. It’s called the mask,” Moody said. “So please we just ask everyone to continue to wear a mask, stay home as much as possible, wash your hands and keep socially distanced.”
As of Thursday, Dec. 1, Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital has conducted 14,044 COVID-19 tests. Of those, 1,907 have tested positive, and one test is still pending with Henry Mayo, according to Moody.
There are 85 patients in the hospital as of Thursday, Dec. 17, while 528 patients have been discharged since the hospital’s first case was reported in March, according to Moody.
Eight additional deaths have been reported this week, with the number of COVID-19 patients more than doubling over the past month.
There have been a total of 55 coronavirus deaths at the hospital, with at least 93 COVID-19 deaths reported across the Santa Clarita Valley.
Photo courtesy of Austin Dave
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