First COVID vaccine doses arrive in Vermont
A view of Route 12, as seen from Woodstock, Vermont. (Gareth Henderson Photo)
Vermonters woke up to some big news on Monday. Their state’s first shipment of the COVID-19 vaccine arrived that same morning, on a day when the recently approved Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine also arrived in states throughout the Northeast and the country as part of a monumental distribution effort.
The much-awaited arrival brought 1,950 doses of the vaccine to Vermont, according to a statement by Gov. Phil Scott. That’s the first portion of 5,850 doses coming to Vermont this week as part of initial nationwide shipments. The first doses have been reserved for the most high-risk groups, such as health care workers and the staff and residents at long-term care facilities. The State Vaccine Depot and the University of Vermont Medical Center in Burlington each received 975 doses at about 8 a.m. today, the state confirmed.
“There is no better, safer or faster way to defeat this virus and work to rebuild our economy than a successful effort to make vaccines available to every single Vermonter,” Scott said. “We are committed to working with our partners to get this done, so we can get through this and be stronger and more resilient than ever before.”
The Vermont Department of Health was allocated weekly shipments of 5,850 doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine through December. The initial doses are for the first of the two-dose regimen required. The manufacturer has reserved an equal number of the second dose, which will be shipped in the coming weeks. Information about the vaccine, its distribution, and updates about getting vaccinated will be regularly updated at healthvermont.gov/covid-19/vaccine.
Also in the Monday statement, Vermont Health Commissioner Mark Levine said this moment is “the beginning of the end of the pandemic,” but he noted that public health measures like masking, social distancing and avoiding multi-household gatherings remain crucial to follow. It will be months before vaccinations are widely available, officials have said.
“I can’t emphasize enough the importance of everyone keeping up their efforts to protect themselves and prevent spread of the virus,” Levine said. “This is a time for great optimism and even greater vigilance to make it all happen.”
Vigilance has indeed been one of the themes of 2020, when we’ve been facing the COVID-19 pandemic. Another theme has been banding together to make progress for the greater good. Now more than ever, those two actions are greatly needed to propel a collective, community-minded effort to adhere to public health laws. To do that, we still need to call on the best within ourselves, lovingly and patiently stay the course, and keep the higher goal in mind. And that is to unite around the common goal of defeating the pandemic, while being guided by our care for one another.
— Gareth Henderson
