Washington sees “ the tools that will allow us to end this pandemic ”

With the first doses of COVID-19 vaccine in Washington given to frontline medical workers on Tuesday, Harborview Medical Center Infection Control Director Dr. John Lynch believes we are at a truly historic moment that marks the beginning. of the end of the pandemic.

Health officials provide details on how COVID vaccine will be distributed

UW Medicine has already received approximately 3,900 doses of the Pfizer vaccine and will soon distribute it widely to healthcare workers in Harborview, Valley Medical Center and two UW Medical Center campuses.

And while it will likely be months before enough people receive the vaccine to truly declare the end of the COVID crisis, Dr Lynch is still encouraged by what he described as a “momentous” occasion on Tuesday.

“It gives me a lot of enthusiasm and optimism to see that we really see the tools that will allow us to end this pandemic,” he told KIRO Radio’s Gee and Ursula.

Lynch feels “very confident” in the data and tests needed to approve the vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna, promising there were “no shortcuts.”

“The important thing is that all the appropriate measures have been taken and that all the experts have been involved,” he said.

Washington braces for COVID-19 vaccine arrival in December

The first shipments of a COVID-19 vaccine for widespread use in the United States headed from Michigan on Sunday to distribution centers across the country. The initial shipment from Washington State contains 62,000 doses of Pfizer vaccine.

The state expects to receive more than 470,000 total doses by the end of December, followed by weekly shipments from Pfizer and Moderna starting in January.

The first round of vaccine doses will go to healthcare workers in high-risk environments, high-risk first responders, and residents and staff in long-term care facilities. The DOH expects it “will take several weeks” to complete this initial phase of distribution. After that, it will go to all people over 65, and those with underlying health issues, followed by babysitters, law enforcement, farm workers and those who work. in “critical infrastructure”.

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