UVM Health Network
Newsroom

UVM Health Network Receives First Shipment of COVID-19 Vaccine

Frontline Health Care Workers to Begin Receiving the Vaccine This Week

Published

BURLINGTON, Vt. – Today marks an important milestone in the global effort to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. The UVM Medical Center, like hospitals around the country, has received the first doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine and will begin to administer it to frontline, patient-facing workers this week.

“This is a big step forward in our ongoing pandemic response, and a critical new tool to protect our health care workers, patients and communities,” said Dr. John R. Brumsted, MD, President and CEO of the UVM Health Network. “While the arrival of the first vaccine offers a ray of hope, there is still much work to do. We will continue working with the states of Vermont and New York to administer COVID-19 vaccines in a safe, effective and thoughtful manner. And we cannot allow the promise of these vaccines to distract us from continuing to do the things that have been proven to slow the growth of COVID-19 – masking, distancing and hand hygiene.”

The vaccine received emergency use authorization from the FDA on Friday and began shipping out to all 50 states on Sunday.

“We have been hoping and waiting for this historical moment where we have vaccine available for the most vulnerable members of our community and our frontline medical workers. I am beyond grateful that my team will soon have the opportunity to receive the vaccine so they are protected and can continue to safely care for all patients in our region,” said Kristin Baker, nurse manager at the UVM Medical Center Emergency Department. “We urge the public to remain vigilant while the vaccine is distributed because it will still be months before it is available widely to the public.”

A second vaccine manufactured by Moderna, Inc., may receive FDA approval later this week. Distribution of the Moderna vaccine would immediately follow. The UVM Health Network will continue to share information as we learn more about vaccinations at each affiliate.

Video from the UVM Health Network of the vaccine doses arriving this morning at UVM Medical Center can be found here

About The University of Vermont Health Network

The University of Vermont Health Network is an integrated system serving the residents of Vermont and northern New York with a shared mission: working together, we improve people’s lives.  The partners are:

Our 4,000 health care professionals are driven to provide high-quality, cost-efficient care as close to home as possible. Strengthened by our academic connection to the University of Vermont, each of our affiliates remains committed to its local community by providing compassionate, personal care shaped by the latest medical advances and delivered by highly skilled experts.

###