Hospitals, nursing homes prepare to distribute COVID vaccine

NEW YORK - We may be only days away from seeing the first shots administered and Northwell Health is ready for the challenge.

“In terms of our distribution, the first group we are giving it to starting either tomorrow or Monday will be healthcare workers. We have developed a matrix to analyze which healthcare workers we can give it to you in an orderly fashion,” said Dr. Mark Jarrett, Deputy Chief Medical Officer for  Northwell Health.

Dr. Jarrett says Northwell expects the vaccine to be shipped within the next 48 hours, but he still doesn’t know exactly when the vaccine will arrive or how many doses they’ll receive. Northwell will prioritize healthcare workers over 65 years old, as well as those working in high-risk units like the ICU and Emergency Room. Also, the staff won’t all get shots at once.

• Pfizer will supply around 600 immunization sites across country in coming days

“We wouldn’t want to give it to everyone in the ICU on the same day because if there are side effects the next day or the day after and they may need to call in ill, and we don’t want to have our staff suddenly decimated. So we’re doing it in a gradual fashion,” said Dr. Jarrett.

Northwell already has its freezers in place. Over at Mount Sinai, medical experts acknowledge the challenge of having to store the vaccine at minus 70 degrees Celsius.

• Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine's 1st impact could be in April, COVID possibly under control 'by end of next summer'

"If something goes wrong, it's not an easy replace. Other times, you know, we've had freezers or refrigerators that don't work. We can replace the drug. In this case, we can't,” said Vivian Leonard, Director of Pharmacy for Mount Sinai Health System.

Nursing home staff and residents will also be prioritized. Sunrise Senior Living and The Bristal both have assisted living facilities across our area. Sunrise says it’s encouraging all its staff and residents to get vaccinated as soon as shipments come in. The Bristal says it’s partnering with CVS and Walgreens, and as soon as they receive supply, inoculations will start throughout The Bristal communities.