From the Hartford Business Journal December 14th 2020
Hartford Hospital celebrated the arrival of the first doses of the Pfizer BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine and the first vaccinations of front-line medical workers this morning.
Pallets of frozen vaccine doses arrived around 9 a.m. at Hartford Hospital and the first shots were given around 10:45, after a news conference and the vaccine was given time to thaw to the appropriate temperature.
“This is the dawn of a new day. This is a time for hope,” Hartford HealthCare CEO Jeffrey A. Flaks said.
Hartford HealthCare workers were among the first in the country to get vaccinated, Flaks said, adding that they were role models for the rest of the nation. “Our frontline healthcare workers are going to show their confidence in the science,” Flaks said.
The vaccinations started shortly after 10:45 a.m. with health workers rolling up their sleeves and getting the first doses at a table set up outside as the media crowded around.
About 15 selected Hartford HealthCare workers ‒ including physicians, nurses, respiratory therapists and environmental services staff ‒ got the vaccine. The workers came from facilities including Backus Hospital, MidState Medical Center, St. Vincent’s Hospital and Medical Center, The Hospital of Central Connecticut and Windham Hospital, according to a news release.
The first vaccine shots in the U.S. were administered to healthcare workers at the Long Island Jewish Medical Center in Queens just before 9:30 a.m. this morning and livestreamed.
