Baylor Scott & White Health – College Station was the first in the region to receive vaccinations for COVID-19. Dr. Timothy Byrd, Inpatient Medicine, was the first person to receive the vaccine, and Erika Ganauser, RN, IMCU was the second.
Baylor Scott & White Health received 975 initial doses, which arrived last Thursday morning. “Dec. 17: the day we’ll always remember the first vaccines for COVID 19 arrived right here in the Brazos Valley,” says Jason Jennings, president of Baylor Scott & White Health for the College Station region. “We are excited to start vaccinating our healthcare employees.”
Healthcare employees are the first to receive the vaccines in accordance with state guidelines, Jennings says, “… more specifically, those taking care of COVID-19 patients. We put a process in place to be able to vaccinate our doctors and nurses and other healthcare workers.” A group of nurses from the hospital were standing by on Thursday to give the vaccinations to their fellow health care workers.
Several other hospitals within Baylor Scott & White Health have received the vaccine as well, Jennings says. Healthcare workers from Baylor Scott & White Health – Brenham are also eligible to receive the vaccinations at the College Station medical center.
The shipment arrived in a 66 lb. box packed in dry ice, and great care was taken to ensure that the vaccines were properly handled and stored at -70 degrees C (-94 degrees F). More vaccinations are expected in the coming weeks.
“If you are nervous getting the vaccine, the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) and the FDA (Federal Drug Administration) have a lot of good resources online,” Jennings says. “Please get out there educate yourself. Always talk to your provider or healthcare physician.”
“We’ve seen a slight surge [in COVID-19 cases] after Thanksgiving,” Jennings says.
“While we are extremely excited about the vaccination today, I just would just we encourage people to still practice all the precautions we’ve learned with COVID-19 — social distancing, wearing your mask,” Jenning says. “It is Christmastime, but please keep your social gatherings as small as possible, all that we can do to continue to flatten the curve with COVID-19, as we stand excited to receive future vaccinations.”
