The first 3,900 doses of Pfizer’s (Pfizer-BioNTech) COVID-19 vaccine has been delivered to Sanford USD Medical Center in Sioux Falls.
More doses are scheduled to be delivered each week.
Sanford Health front-line health care workers in South Dakota are scheduled to begin receiving the first doses of the vaccine today (Dec. 15, 2020). Sanford is strongly encouraging all eligible health care workers to receive the vaccine.
Sanford has invested in special cold storage facilities and has capacity to store almost 500,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine. Vaccine preparations involve pharmacy, supply chain, clinical operators, research and a number of other areas.
Sanford has also established a network of 180 couriers that will facilitate distribution of the vaccine to smaller medical centers across ND, SD, MN and IA as more supply becomes available.
Sanford Health will be one of the first locations in the country to vaccinate long-term care workers this week. In Sioux Falls, front-line staff at three Good Samaritan Society locations and two additional nursing homes will get the first shots from Sanford. The Good Samaritan Society is part of Sanford Health, one of the largest integrated health systems in the country.
The FDA has authorized the emergency use of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine to prevent COVID-19 in individuals 16 years of age and older under an Emergency Use Authorization. The CDC has also recommended the vaccine for people ages 16 and older. The vaccine will be given as an injection into the muscle. The vaccination is a two dose series given three weeks apart. In an ongoing clinical trial, the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine has been shown to be 95% effective in preventing COVID-19 following both doses.
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