TOLEDO, Ohio — Employees at St Vincent Mercy Medical Center received the first round of COVID-19 vaccines on Tuesday. Among the first local individuals to be vaccinated were doctors, nurses and respiratory therapists. All work in areas of the hospital that interact directly with COVID-19 patients.
The hospital received 975 doses of the Pfizer vaccine Tuesday morning. That will cover 975 people, and all those people will get another round of shots three weeks from now.
The plan of doctors in the hospital is to vaccinate about 300 people per day.
The employees who received the first round of shots said the experience was similar to a flu shot, if not less painful. None of them are experiencing side effects at this time.
Many said they felt it is their job to lead by example so we can end this pandemic.
“If we don't get enough people to participate in taking the vaccine disease will stay around weed and it won't we can't get rid of it so I feel like as a nurse is my responsibility to lead by example,” St. Vincent nurse Kim Ogden said.
It is not required for St. Vincent employees to get the shot, but it is highly encouraged.
“One of the major reasons I took the vaccine is because I believe in the science of vaccines, and I understand how important the vaccination process is in controlling disease, especially a viral disease like COVID-19,” Chief Medical Officer Dr. James Tita said.
“The decision to get the shot was a very easy decision for me, I have personally seen first-hand what COVID-19 does to people,” St. Vincent respiratory nurse Rhonda Gladieux said.
St. Vincent will continue vaccinating employees over the next few days. Other hospitals in northwest Ohio, like Promedica, are set to get their first shipments of the vaccine next week.
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