BUFFALO, N.Y. (WBEN) – Dr. Philip McCarthy, Roswell Park’s Director of Transplant and Cellular Therapy Center, was among the first doctors in Western New York to receive the initial Pfizer vaccine.
McCarthy, who is also a cancer survivor, said he feels reassured but he knows he still needs to receive the second dose in three weeks.
“I’m still not going to go out and about without wearing a mask nor am I going out in groups of 30 people or anything that is considered high-risk behavior because we still have a lot more people we need to vaccinate and agree to be vaccinated before we can breathe a sigh of relief” he said. “That’s not going to be a few more months.
Receiving the vaccine shot was no different than a flu shot. He said the only thing that really stood out was the hour leading up to the vaccine because it needed to be thawed from its extremely cold temperatures.
His only disappointment was that he didn’t get his preferred bandage.
“I wanted a Mickey Mouse one,” he joked.
McCarthy said patients of his vary in their perception of the vaccine. Some of them support it while others are hesitant to receive it. He wants people to know that it is not a live vaccine, meaning it won’t spread to another person.
“The efficacy seems to be pretty good and now we’ll have a lot more people vaccinated,” he said.
He downloaded an app and was told he needs to track his health for the next several weeks. McCarthy said he spoke with a nurse who is pregnant and said there are still some questions related to the vaccine, though he expressed optimism that the vaccine is safe.
Nearly 1,000 other health care professionals at Roswell Park are due to receive the vaccine in the coming weeks.
The vaccine will not be available for months to the general public.