By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
Healthcare workers, vaccinators, EMTs, police officers and long-term care residents were among the first in Sitka to receive coronavirus shots, officials said.
The exact number of doses Sitka received wasn’t available, but the intent under the state’s Phase 1 in the process is to get Pfizer vaccine to frontline healthcare workers at highest risk for infection, long-term care residents, EMTs and others providing emergency services, and those who provide vaccinations.
“It’s more than historic, it’s hopeful,” said Dr. Elliot Bruhl, SEARHC chief medical officer and senior vice president, who received the first shot. SEARHC received the shipment of the Pfizer vaccine Tuesday, and started vaccinating the first of its 650 employees Wednesday and today.
Members of the fire hall and police department were also given the opportunity to get vaccinated, Wednesday afternoon.
“It went very smoothly,” said Trish White, who estimated some 35 were vaccinated at the fire hall. “There wasn’t a single adverse reaction.” Another clinic is set for Saturday.
Sitka Fire Department Chief Craig Warren, left, is given a COVID-19 vaccination, just below his dragon tattoo, Wednesday afternoon by Dirk White at the fire hall. Warren was the first emergency response worker at the fire hall to receive a shot. (Sentinel Photo by James Poulson)
Those being vaccinated stayed for 15-30 minutes to make sure they didn’t have reactions to the new vaccine.
White described her role as more “behind the scenes,” with others coordinating the actual clinic. She gave credit to those at the fire hall, and Public Health Nurse Denise Ewing for their work, and SEARHC, which is the depot for the vaccine.
(She was vaccinated earlier at SEARHC because of her contract for pharmacy services for SEARHC long-term care, and said it was a “totally painless” event.)
“It was a big moment for all of us,” she said of the fire hall clinic. “We all knew it was history in the making and were grateful.”
Fire Chief Craig Warren was the first to be vaccinated at the fire hall.
“It was just like getting the flu shot, it was a painless event,” he said. “This morning I don’t feel like I even got a shot. ... We have not heard of any symptoms other than soreness at the injection site. Most people are equating it to a tetanus shot.”
Warren said he was glad to receive the shot, and glad the first responders are being considered in the vaccination process.
“I feel like it’s something (Sitkans have) all been hoping for all year, and now it’s here, and getting it started,” he said. “It’s spectacular the EMTs are being included, because we don’t have to worry about getting sick, and bringing it home to our families, or our patients.”
The vaccine given this week is the first of two doses. SEARHC said in a news release that two doses of the Pfizer vaccine are required to ensure effectiveness, with the second shot administered three weeks after the first. “It’s critically important to get the second shot,” the release said.
When contacted today, Bruhl was on his way back from Kake where he’d distributed the vaccine. SEARHC also got the vaccine to Prince of Wales, Angoon and Wrangell, and has plans to also reach the other communities as well.
“We’ve been thinking about it quite a bit and feeling it’s important to see we include all of our communities and not just Juneau and Sitka, and we’re really putting a lot of effort into that,” Bruhl said.
Different organizations are coordinating the vaccinations for different segments of the population, starting with frontline healthcare workers and emergency responders, and those in long-term care.
SEARHC said in a news release side effects are minimal and may include soreness at the injection site, mild fever, chills, fatigue, headache, and muscle and joint aches. These typically last two days or less and signal that the recipient’s immune system is working to build protection against the disease.
Bruhl said his reaction was no different than that from a flu shot, with a sore arm in the afternoon and nothing today.
White said she had no physical reaction to the vaccine, but said it was emotional for her and for several others.
Bruhl had similar comments.
“This is a really amazing and historic moment that will in the course of the next year turn the tide of the pandemic,” he said. “And a step toward getting back to normal society.”
Bruhl said there was some excitement on Prince of Wales when the SEARHC group arrived with the vaccine, including from general members of the public, with some clapping and “a few tearful.”
“They were expressing their joy that this was becoming a reality for their community,” Bruhl said. “That was very amazing for me.”
He said beyond the public health aspect is “the amazing aspect to what medical science has been able to accomplish” with the development of the vaccine.
Bruhl said he and other healthcare leaders have been following the development of the vaccine and noted in a news release Wednesday that clinical trials have demonstrated that it is “95 percent effective and has been proven safe.”
“We don’t just endorse it, we fully support it. We’re excited about it,” Bruhl said today.
White said she was so proud of the work her team did, including the due diligence over the last few months, and wanted to give a shout out to “point person Katelyn Ylitalo.”
Police Chief Robert Baty was also in the first group to be vaccinated Wednesday evening, and said officers around the state weren’t necessarily in the first group to receive the vaccine. He said most of those in the department were vaccinated, and cited a statistic that more officers have been killed in the last year by COVID than gunfire.
The department sent out an email, and officers and other members of the department were invited to sign up and go to the clinic at the fire hall. A handful opted against being vaccinated, but the vast majority were, he said.
Baty said getting the shot was not an emotional moment for him, though. “I’m pretty pragmatic,” he said, but he was pleased the opportunity was available for the department.
