Frontline workers get first doses of COVID-19 vaccine at Bladen County Hospital

BLADEN COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — The first rounds of COVID-19 vacations were given Wednesday in the Cape Fear.

The first Pfizer shipment was delivered to Bladen County on Tuesday.

A peek inside the ultra cold freezer the COVID-19 vaccine is stored in at Cape Fear Valley Bladen County Hospital. The vaccine is stored at -70 Degrees Celsius. More than 30 vaccines have been given to healthcare staff today.@WWAY pic.twitter.com/IpKli6TXvH

— Sydney Bouchelle (@sydbouchelletv) December 16, 2020

More than 30 healthcare workers received the vaccine Wednesday at Cape Fear Valley Bladen County Hospital. The hospital received 975 vials. This is the first dose and will have to return for a second shot in about three weeks.

Medical Director Dr. Vicki Lanier received the vaccine Wednesday morning.

She says the vaccine is definitely not as painful as a tetanus shot, adding it was more comparable to a flu shot.

President and Chief Financial Officer Stephen Fife credits the planning to the Cape Fear Valley System for being one of the first places in the region to get a shipment.

“We participated in three of the clinical trials,” Fife said. “So that combined with the purchasing the ultra low-temperature freezers really prioritized us in getting the early shipments.”

Stored at -70 degrees Celcius, the vaccine takes three hours to thaw in a refrigerator then 30 minutes on the counter.

Dr. Lanier says she feels a sense of comfort knowing they now have access to the vaccine.

“It means that the planners, as far as Cape Fear Valley, made sure that we were included in the immunizations that came and were given,” Dr. Lanier said. “Bladen County is a very rural area. We have a population that tends to be a little bit sicker than most of the other areas, so for us to be included in this is really important.”

Dr. Lanier says the people who were vaccinated Wednesday have not reported any problems or side effects at this time.

“Our nurses, our clinical staff, and really everyone in healthcare have been working really hard over the last 10 months or so, so it is per se a light at the end of the tunnel,” Fife said. “We’re just really ready to get this pandemic behind us.”

The hospital says they anticipate the vaccine to be available to the general public in the first quarter of next year.

New Hanover Regional Medical Center and Novant Health Brunswick Medical Center will get their first rounds of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines on Thursday.