Catherine Fitch
December 20, 2020
Bishop Fabre Announces Pastoral Appointments
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After nine months of battling the novel coronavirus on the front lines, thousands of health care workers across the state received a morale booster last week.
On Monday, Louisiana’s first shipments of the two-dose Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine were distributed to hospitals.
“It’s a day that we have been preparing for, planning for and praying for, for about nine months now,” said Governor John Bel Edwards while vaccines were being administered at Ochsner Medical Center in New Orleans. “And of course this is the beginning of the end. We are not at the end yet, but it is such a blessing to have the vaccine in the state of Louisiana.”
The first doses of the roughly 39,000 that the state acquired last week were dispensed at Ochsner.
According to the Louisiana Department of Health’s rollout plan for Phase 1a, hospital personnel with direct COVID-19 exposure and care, personnel at nursing homes and adult residential care facilities, residents and patients at nursing homes and adult residential care facilities are at the top of the list to take the historic vaccine.
“I know our health care workers who’ve been dealing with this pandemic, the frontline folks in our hospitals, are very appreciative of this opportunity,” said Dr. W. S. “Chip” Riggins, LDH Medical Director for Region 3, which includes Lafourche and Terrebonne.
“We have a social contract with the health care providers to make sure that they get prioritized for the vaccine because they are caring for the sickest among us,” he continued.
For Phase 1b, most other medical field personnel, first responders, public transit personnel, pharmacists, food processing and packing personnel and people age 65 or older with existing health conditions are prioritized.
Pfizer’s vaccine has about a 50 percent efficacy rate after the first dose and a 95 percent efficacy after the second one, which recipients take 21 days after their initial dose.
Dr. Jacob Boudreaux said he was overjoyed after receiving his first dose of the vaccine on Monday. “There were so many people at Ochsner who were taking selfies while they were getting their vaccinations,” said Boudreaux, who shared that he too snapped a picture of himself. “…And the first thing that came to mind to me was that this is a photo that I’m going to show my grandchildren one day.”
A member of the Infectious Disease Department at Ochsner, the Houma native was well acquainted with the vaccine before he was injected with it, being involved with its trial since early September when the study was opened up to around 200 participants in the New Orleans area.
“It is just a heartwarming experience to participate in that,” Boudreaux said, “to hear people’s stories about how they just want to get involved and do their part as a participant in the study — that way they can contribute to science and to doing their part in defeating this virus, particularly because the New Orleans area was hit so devastatingly hard in the early days of the pandemic.”
On Tuesday, the health system’s local facilities, Ochsner St. Anne Hospital and Chabert Medical Center, began administering the vaccine to their personnel.
Dr. Mohammad Nawaz, an internal medicine specialist at Ochsner St. Anne in Raceland, was among the first group to receive it. The doctor shared that the vaccine gives him peace of mind. Moving from room to room to visit patients, Nawaz said, he wants to make sure he’s protected so he doesn’t spread the virus.
“I want to take the vaccine to not catch the virus and also to be protected from the virus,” he said. “I also want to help protect my family, patients and community from catching COVID.”
The leaders of Terrebonne General Medical Center (TGMC) and Thibodaux Regional Health System expressed their enthusiasm for the new vaccine when they obtained their first shipments on Wednesday.
“TGMC is doing its part to help eradicate this pandemic,” said Phyllis Peoples, President and CEO of TGMC, which said it is anticipating receipt of 250 doses weekly and potentially more as it becomes more available.
“As health care leaders, it is important for us to set the example and educate our community to ensure the safety of the COVID-19 vaccine,” Peoples continued. “We are excited to be leading the way by taking this important step in protecting ourselves and individuals from getting severely ill and most of all, protecting our families, co-workers and patients.”
“As the region’s healthcare leader, Thibodaux Regional has remained focused and vigilant. We appreciate the many efforts of our staff and physicians who have anticipated and responded to changes brought on by the pandemic,” said Greg Stock, Thibodaux Regional CEO. “Thibodaux Regional is committed to the safety of our staff and patients. We are optimistic about the vaccine, and are executing our plan in administering the vaccine in a timely and safe manner.”
The unprecedented speed that it took to be developed and approved compared to others in the past caused the vaccine to see its fair share of skeptics. However, medical professionals note how scientific evidence proves it is efficient and safe.
“The more educated you get about [the vaccine], the better you feel about it. They took about 43,000-plus patients. They put them into two groups…They gave one half a placebo and the other half the vaccine. And lo behold, for the people who got the shot, 95 percent did not get the disease,” Nawaz explained.
Riggins highlighted that no shortcuts were taken with the vaccine’s safety. “Safety was a priority in the vaccine trials; they were given the same safety rigor that every vaccine is given,” he said.
“From what I read from the published data, the side effects of this are just the same as any other vaccine. Some people are gonna experience redness at the injection site. Some people are going to experience soreness, maybe become a little feverish, but nothing that shouldn’t be relieved with just a simple Tylenol,” Boudreaux said.
He continued: “So this vaccine is incredibly well-tested, incredibly well-researched and simply the medical miracle that we need right now.”
Erin Kinnard, an emergency room physician assistant at Chabert Medical Center, said the public should trust science and the research that’s been done on the COVID vaccine as it is “the only way out of this pandemic.”
With reports not having the vaccine available for the general public until spring or even summer, government and health officials note that the novel coronavirus pandemic will still be with us for quite some time.
“…We’re going to eventually get enough people vaccinated with this safe and effective vaccine that we will start to put this pandemic in our rearview mirror,” Edwards said. “But until then, I urge everyone to follow the mitigation measures.”
The vaccine has been proven to be effective at preventing the disease, Riggins said, but what is still to be discovered is whether or not vaccinated individuals can still acquire the infection and spread it.
“This virus is sneaky, and we don’t know because 40 to 45 percent of [COVID positive] people have no symptoms whatsoever, even though they are capable of spreading the virus,” he explained. “Really, it’s not until we reach that large number of herd immunity, which is probably in the range of 50 to 60 percent of our population, before we start seeing the beneficial effects, and 75 percent of our population needs to be immune before we’ll see the virus transmission really stop.”
Although the breakthrough vaccine has brought a worldwide feeling of hope, medical professionals urge citizens to remain cautious and continue the practices associated with COVID-19.
“As we go into the Christmas season, we celebrate life and the Christmas story tells us of three wise men who gave three gifts: gold, frankincense and myrrh,” Boudreaux added. “Right now, the best thing that we can do to celebrate life is to give each other three gifts: hand-washing, physical distancing and wearing a simple mask.”
