Employees of Cook Children's Medical Center have begun receiving doses of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine. Doctors, nurses, cleaning crew members and other staffers who have direct contact with patients were given top priority to receive the vaccine just hours after it arrived last week.
"Every day this year I've been scared to bring the virus home to my family, especially my parents," said Dr. Diane Arnaout, a pediatrician at Cook Children's who was one of the first thirty people there to receive the vaccine. "So this is a big day. Honestly, I'm just ready to hug my patients again."
Those employees in the first group said they were confident the virus would be effective.
"I trust the science. I've been wearing full PPE (personal protective equipment) since March. I'm truly exhausted mentally and physically," said Deborah English, RN in the COVID-19 unit. "I know that this is our only way to beat the virus, because it's definitely been beating us up."
Front-line workers at Cook Children's will need to register for their appointment to receive the vaccine. The hospital hopes to have 2,000 employees vaccinated by the end of the day on Monday, December 21st.
