The first doses of a life-saving coronavirus vaccine are expected to arrive in western Massachusetts on Tuesday.
Baystate Health, the region’s largest hospital network, expects its first shipment of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine to arrive Tuesday and plans to begin vaccinating healthcare workers the following day.
"I consider it to be the beginning of the end to the pandemic," said Dr. Mark Keroack, the president and CEO of Baystate. He would not say Monday how many doses the hospital expects in the first shipment. Boston Medical Center Monday received 1,950 doses of the Pfizer vaccine – making it the first hospital in Massachusetts to receive the drug.
A three-phase vaccine distribution plan announced by Gov. Charlie Baker last week has frontline healthcare workers first in line along with residents of long-term care facilities.
If there are no snags, 7.000 -8,000 workers at Baystate should be vaccinated by the end of January, according to Keroack. This assumes the arrival shortly of a second vaccine manufactured by Moderna, which is awaiting emergency use authorization from the FDA.
After news of the FDA approval of the Pfizer vaccine broke Friday night, Keroack said the hospital’s phone lines were jammed by people asking where they could get it. He said that is a positive sign of the public’s willingness to voluntarily take the vaccine.
"There have been concerns around communities of color, but I believe in the city of Springfield that when people speak with their (health care) providers they will feel reassured and confident that this is a vaccine that will really help them," said Keroack.
Polls show about 60 percent of Massachusetts residents say they will take a COVID-19 vaccine.
Dr. Robert Roose, the chief medical officer at Mercy Medical Center in Springfield, said he is eager for healthcare workers to be vaccinated, in part to show the general public the vaccine is both safe and effective.
"I am proud to say that I will absolutely accept this vaccine the first day that I am eligible," said Roose.
As the vaccine is rolling out, COVID-19 continues to spread in the greater Springfield area at what Dr. Keroack has described as an alarming rate.
Baystate Monday had 160 COVID-19 patients – the highest number since last April.
