Memorial Medical Center rolls out first COVID-19 vaccinations for staff
Alfred Perez, the director of Guest Relations & Security at Memorial Medical Center, is among the first in Las Cruces to receive the first dose of Pfizer's recently-approved COVID-19 vaccine. [Courtesy Photo / Memorial Medical Center]
LAS CRUCES - Some staff members were excited — others a little nervous — as Memorial Medical Center on Wednesday began inoculating hospital employees against COVID-19. The city's oldest hospital received 975 doses of Pfizer's vaccine, which last week received emergency use authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, on Tuesday.
The vaccine — which must be stored in an ultra-cold freezer between -80⁰C and -60⁰C (-112⁰F and -76⁰F) — arrived in a cooler just before 10 a.m. Tuesday, packed in dry ice. At around 7 a.m. Wednesday, some of the city's frontline health care workers began receiving the first dose of the vaccination.
The Pfizer vaccine — the first to receive FDA approval — requires a two-dose series, separated by 21 days.
"It feels good," said Alfred Perez, the hospital's director of Guest Relations & Security, with a needle in his arm. Though wearing a face mask, his eyes indicated he was smiling.
"A lot of progress is being made right now," he added.
'A big day'
"Today was a big day," said Dolores Gomez, chief medical officer at MMC. "I received my first dose of COVID-19 vaccine."
The initial doses of the vaccine are being given to frontline health care workers, Gomez explained.
"That includes our ICU staff, our ER staff — any staff that works in the hospital. But also our fire and EMS providers, as well," Gomez added. "As a physician, I think it's very important to get this, because I don't want to get sick. I want to stay healthy so I'm here to care for you all, in the community."
Gomez acknowledged that it may still be a while before the community at large can access the vaccine, but stressed the importance of continuing to adhere to COVID-safe practices.
"In the meantime, we need to continue to be safe," she said. "That's wearing your mask, keeping social distance and washing our hands. And right now, during the holidays, trying to stay 'virtual' as much as possible."
Gomez said she looks forward to her second dose, which she will receive in 21 days.
'We can trust science'
Terrance King was the hospital's first Intensive Care Unit nurse to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. King, a recent college graduate who identifies as African American, said he chose to take the virus to set an example.
"I was reading yesterday that one of the biggest populations that are the most skeptical (about getting the COVID-19 vaccine) are African Americans," King said Tuesday. "I chose to get this vaccine to serve as a role model — showing that we can trust the government, we can trust science. And, quite frankly, we can trust the medical community."
King said that, as a working medical professional, he believes getting vaccinated is the right thing to do.
There's still work to do
Wednesday's inoculations came just one day after New Mexico's new secretary of health said the arrival of vaccines in New Mexico marks a turning point and she's hopeful for a brighter day as people get vaccinated over the coming months.
Health Secretary Tracie Collins said that, while vaccination will prevent COVID-19 infection, there is more that needs to be learned about how effective inoculations will be in stemming transmission of the virus, the Associated Press reported.
"This means that as New Mexicans begin to get vaccinated, we still need to wear masks, maintain 6-foot social distancing, wash our hands often and keep up with other COVID-safe practices," she said during a briefing on the vaccine rollout.
Public health officials in New Mexico and nationwide continue to urge residents to avoid gathering with those outside their household during the holiday season to avoid spreading the coronavirus.
New Mexico has seen its weekly rolling average of new infections decrease, but deaths remain high. The statewide death toll since the pandemic began topped 2,000 on Tuesday, with almost one-fifth of those deaths being reported in just the past two weeks.
Damien Willis is a Lead Reporter for the Las Cruces Sun-News. He can be reached at 575-541-5443, dwillis@lcsun-news.com or @DamienWillis on Twitter.
This story originally appeared in the Las Cruces Sun-News on Dec. 16, 2020.
