Emergency room physician Dr. Cathy Marco was the first frontline worker at Miami Valley Hospital to receive a COVID shot, administered by Premier pharmacist Amanda Deskins.
Credit: Jim Noelker
Credit: Jim Noelker
“(This is) very excited for our community,” said Dr. Jeremy Moore, an emergency medical physician at Miami Valley Hospital who received the shot Tuesday. “It’s been a long year treating a lot of sick patients and you always worry about taking it home to your family. So (this vaccine) offers hope and maybe there is a light at the end of the tunnel.”
Dayton Children’s Hospital received 1,300 doses Tuesday of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine and also began vaccinating employees Tuesday afternoon.
Among the first vaccinated was Dr. Vipul Patel, chief of critical care, according to a news release from the hospital.
“I am absolutely excited,” Patel stated after getting the vaccine. “I’m thankful for the scientists that made this possible for all of us.”
Public Health - Dayton & Montgomery County and Miami County Public Health received their first shipments early Tuesday of the coronavirus vaccine.
Area health departments plan to begin vaccinating emergency medical service workers and home healthcare personnel this week.
Montgomery County received 3,100 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine produced by Moderna, and Miami County received 400 doses. Greene County Public Health received 300 doses on Monday.
EMS workers for the Dayton Fire Department will begin receiving the first dose of the two-dose vaccine regimen on Thursday, Christmas Eve, said Capt. Brad French.
“It’s definitely a sign of relief for a lot of the members,” he said. “Our medic units transport COVID positive patients virtually every day, and there’s a tremendous amount of exposure.”
The city is not requiring employees to get vaccinated but French said he expects most to voluntarily get the shots.
“We have trusted medical resources that recommend that that’s the thing to do, including our medical director, Dr. Randy Mariott … and he himself is going to be getting the vaccine,” French said.
While the first vaccine shipment is not enough to cover everyone in the first priority group in Montgomery County, Public Health expects regular weekly shipments, spokesman Dan Suffoletto said.
At least 8,453 Ohioans have received the first dose of a two-dose coronavirus vaccine regimen, according to data released Tuesday afternoon by the Ohio Department of Health. That’s about 0.07% of Ohio’s population and about 0.7% of the 1 million to 1.3 million people ODH estimates are in Phase 1A of distribution.
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