VOORHEES, N.J. (KYW Newsradio) — Thirty Jefferson Health New Jersey employees were some of the first in the region to receive Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine Tuesday morning.
It was the first time the South Jersey hospital network administered any vaccine. The state told them a few weeks back that they would start with doses from Moderna.
ICU nurse Renee Stephens got the first shot. She floats in and out of the COVID-19 unit at Jefferson Washington Township Hospital.
“I feel great,” she said afterward, adding she’s grateful a vaccine has arrived to keep her family, co-workers and patients safe. She originally thought a vaccine wouldn’t be available until much further down the road.
“In my mind, I thought it was going to be years in the making, so the fact that it got here so quickly is just amazing, and the fact that it’s safe and the research has been done — I have absolutely no hesitation to worry about any of the side effects of the vaccine,” she said.
“I feel blessed to be in an occupation that’s also part of my calling,” she continued, “and I want all our patients to be able to do well and to live life again because right now, I feel like the entire world has been put on pause.”
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Jefferson Health New Jersey President and COO Brian Sweeney said they’re starting with 1,200 doses of the Moderna vaccine this week. The South Jersey hospital network didn’t have access to Pfizer’s rollout last week, but he predicts things will move fast in the coming months.
“We have to protect our team first, and then we’re going to be in a great position to help the community and be able to vaccinate as many people as possible,” he said.
Across the river in Philadelphia, Deputy Health Commissioner Dr. Caroline Johnson, who joined KYW Newsradio live Tuesday morning, said the Moderna vaccine gives health authorities more flexibility.
The Pfizer vaccine requires ultra-cold storage, which limits distribution to places that have special freezers. Moderna’s vaccine must be kept at cold temperatures too, but not as severely as Pfizer’s, which, Johnson said, will help make it widely available at pharmacies and clinics later down the road.
Since immunizations started last week in Philadelphia, she said there have not been any adverse effects among immunized workers.
Johnson goes on to discuss how Moderna’s vaccine impacts the region. Listen below: