PUEBLO — Roughly 100 healthcare workers from Parkview Medical Center are officially COVID-19 vaccinated, marking a milestone in the pandemic.
"This is the glimmer of hope. Not just for Parkview, but really the world," said President of Parkview Medical Leslie Barnes.
Employees from Parkview could register online, then received a call scheduling their appointment. They will come back to the clinic in three weeks for their second dose of the vaccine.
"I was elated! I was very happy!" said Laura Sandoval-Adams, an RN at Parkview, when describing her reaction to the news that she would be among the first employees to get vaccinate. "As soon as my manager said I could register online I did!
However, Barnes anticipates that some healthcare workers will not want to be vaccinated, saying "As with any vaccine, there are people that will choose to not take it." This poses the question - Why not make the vaccine mandatory for healthcare workers?
"This is an experimental vaccine and so, at this point, it would not be mandated," said Barnes.
Barnes says she is proud of her team for getting the clinic up and running in "less than a week" and they want to get it out to the public as soon as possible.
"We want to get this done, and we want it to get out into the community so that our patients can get vaccinated," said Barnes.
Until that day comes, Adams wants to remind everyone that the vaccine is just "one tool" in fighting the vaccine.
"People still need to wear masks, handwash, and keep socially isolated until we get control of this pandemic," says Adams.
If the Moderna vaccine is approved for emergency use from the FDA tomorrow, as Parkview expects, the hospital says Pueblo could see 2,500 batches of the vaccine delivered sometime next week.
