Even with her face masked, it was easy to see ICU nurse Sonya Harrell’s reaction to being vaccinated: an enthusiastic grin.
As the first person in San Bernardino County to receive the vaccination against COVID-19, Harrell could have been nervous about the needle that health nurse Marcia Williams was sticking in her upper arm. But she and five other high-risk front-line health care workers who received the vaccine at Arrowhead Regional Medical center in Colton on Wednesday, Dec. 16, were excited and determined.
They’ve seen the toll the virus has taken.
Arrowhead’s intensive care unit reached full capacity Dec. 9, and across Southern California, the percentage of ICU beds available — which was at 20.6% as recently as Dec. 3 — fell for the ninth day in a row, reaching 0.5% Wednesday.
The workers vaccinated Wednesday — “heroes we’re here to celebrate,” county Supervisor Joe Baca Jr. called them — have treated many of the 1,304 county residents who’ve died of the virus. That includes the 63 reported Wednesday, the deadliest day of the pandemic so far.
While county officials applauded the fact that health care workers could soon save lives without the risk of catching COVID-19 themselves — although the vaccine is only 95% effective after taking a second dose 21 days after the first dose — those workers themselves focused on the future.
The six people vaccinated at Arrowhead were among 15,600 high-risk people in San Bernardino County to be vaccinated in the first dose, as Riverside County prepares to receive its first doses Friday, Dec. 18, and health care workers across the nation prepare for a campaign to get as many people vaccinated as possible.
Harrell said she got the vaccine “to protect my family and to encourage my co-workers and other people in the community that there’s nothing to be afraid of. We need to get vaccinated to get this virus under control.”
ICU nurse Sonya Harrell explains why she took the vaccine. pic.twitter.com/RJ6t0dA5ai
— Ryan Hagen (@rmhagen) December 16, 2020
And Dr. Sharon Wang — an infectious disease physician whose immediate reaction after getting the shot was to exclaim, “That didn’t hurt at all!” — turned serious as she pleaded with the public to get vaccinated once enough doses were available.
“This is hope, and this is the bright light at the end of a very long tunnel still,” Wang told a crowded room of doctors, county officials and reporters. “So when you’re given the opportunity to get vaccinated, I encourage you to step forward and be part of the solution.”
While officials say it’s too soon to know when the broader public can be vaccinated, Wednesday marks a milestone toward that moment.
The county received 15,600 doses of the vaccine Wednesday, which it spread to hospitals across the county. Those doses will be administered over the next several days, the first counteroffensive against a disease that until now could be fought only with masks, social distancing, hygiene and avoiding crowds.
Those measures will remain important until everyone has had a chance to take the vaccine, said Curt Hagman, chairman of the county Board of Supervisors.
“We have light at the end of the tunnel, but we have a long way to go,” Hagman said just before the vaccinations began. “We still need to wear our masks. We can’t have more people in this hospital.”
Each of the next several weeks should bring another 30,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine to San Bernardino County, and officials hope vaccines from other companies will soon join them.
Riverside County expects to receive 14,000 to 15,000 coronavirus vaccines Friday, with another shipment from Pfizer — probably between 10,000 and 11,000 doses — expected next week, said Kim Saruwatari, Riverside County public health director.
Los Angeles County was among the first in the state to receive the vaccinations Monday, Dec. 14, and Orange County gave its first doses Wednesday.
December’s doses will go a long way toward protecting San Bernardino County’s 112,000 health care workers, along with other groups who are first or second in line for the vaccine.
After high-risk health care workers, workers at skilled nursing facilities and first responders are vaccinated, vaccinations will begin for people with underlying conditions that put them at high risk and older adults in congregate or overcrowded conditions.
Phase 2 includes teachers, critical workers, people with underlying conditions that put them at moderate risk, and older adults.
Phase 3 is young adults and children, as well as workers in important industries not covered in Phase 1 or Phase 2.
Finally, Phase 4 will include everyone else.
The thought of reaching that day, and a victory against the coronavirus, had many smiling Wednesday.
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San Bernardino County gives first coronavirus vaccines - San Bernardino County Sun
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