Here’s why 3 health care workers said yes to getting first COVID vaccinations in Tri-Cities

The vaccination of Tri-Cities healthcare workers against COVID-19 has begun.

Kadlec Regional Medical Center in Richland said Friday afternoon that it had given the initial immunization shots to some of its workers at highest risk of exposure to COVID-19 as they care for patients.

They still will need a second dose of the vaccine in three weeks for the best protection.

“I believe in this vaccine and the science behind it,” said Ashley Fleming, a Kadlec acute care nurse, in information provided to news media by the hospital.

She has been caring for COVID patients at Kadlec since March.

“It’s very humbling watching what these patients go through,” she said.

Michelle Twomey-Santiago, a registered nurse and Kadlec acute care nurse manager, was also among the first to be vaccinated in the Tri-Cities.

“I wanted to be one of the first to set an example for my staff and all of the patients that are sick, and members of the community that the vaccine is safe,” she said.

She said she had a feeling of overwhelming pride when she looked around the room where the vaccine was being administered to the first group of workers.

“I feel hope that we will see a bit of reprieve with this vaccine,” she said.

Dr. John Matheson, the Kadlec emergency department medical director, also received the vaccine.

It’s been well tested, he said.

“The science is sound. I feel very confident in its safety,” he said. “This is the way out of this.”

The vaccine should, in time, return normalcy to the Tri-Cities area, he said.

Of the 62,400 doses of vaccine sent to the state of Washington this week, 1,950 were forwarded to Benton County.

Kadlec has not said whether it received all the doses sent to Benton County after the Washington state Department of Health recommended it limit the information it shared in the interest of safety and security.

More vaccine coming

The state did not allocate any of the initial 62,400 doses distributed in Washington state to the Tri-Cities other two hospitals, Trios Health in Kennewick and Lourdes Health in Pasco, but officials at the two hospitals hope to receive vaccine shipments soon.

The state has not said where the 44,850 doses of the Pfizer COVID vaccine it expects to receive in the coming week will be distributed in the state. It is less than the 74,100 doses it was initially expecting for the week.

However, the vaccine it does receive may stretch further than initially anticipated.

The Pfizer vials of vaccine are packaged to contain five doses, but include a little extra. The extra vaccine can be used to draw a sixth or seventh dose that can be administered, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The state, following guidance from the Centers for Disease Control, is distributing the first vaccines around the state by use by health care workers at high risk of getting the disease, including those at hospitals, emergency medical technicians and long term care home facilities. Residents of nursing and other long term care homes also are at the top of the list.

As of Thursday evening, more than 1,000 high risk health care workers around the state had been vaccinated, according to the Washington state Department of Health.

Kadlec said earlier that it would not vaccinate all of its high risk workers on the same day to ensure that possible side effects, such as fever or muscle aches, did not keep too many people from taking sick leave on the same day.

Which group of people, such as elderly not in working homes or essential workers, will be allowed to receive the vaccine next has not been decided.

But public health officials expect the vaccine to be available to anyone who wants it by late spring or early summer.

“If you have apprehensions about the vaccine, reach out to your health care provider to get your questions answered,” Twomey-Santiago said.

Pfizer had the only vaccine approved for use in the United States until the FDA approved the Moderna COVID vaccine Friday evening. It still must be approved for use in Washington state, which could be done quickly.