NEW ORLEANS — A shot in the arm has never been so welcomed as when COVID vaccines started being given last week in Louisiana.
“I mean this is like a superstar of a vaccine,” said Kaitlin Martin Klinger, Deputy Chief of Staff at the V.A. in New Orleans.
As healthcare workers and those most at risk get their COVID vaccines, hospitals are working to make sure those shots are strategically given.
Dr. Julio Figueroa with LSU Health got his first round of the Pfizer vaccine already.
“A little bit of arm pain, that’s pretty much it,” said Figueroa.
Figueroa says right now hospitals are following CDC recommendations. That means medical facilities are where the vaccination effort stays for now.
“It’s likely going to be through the institutions first as opposed to sort of mass vaccinations where you line up on Canal Street to get your vaccine,” said Figueroa.
Figueroa believes mass vaccinations will happen, just not right now. It could be late Spring or early Summer before vaccines are readily available. For those who’ve gotten them though, those shots are delivering more than just a vaccine.
“The energy in that room as we were all waiting to get the vaccine was the most excited I’ve seen anybody in so long. It was nice to be a part of that,” said Emily Beckett, an ICU nurse at Ochsner Health, when she received the vaccine last week.
Figueroa believes that boost in morale is a game-changer for those who’ve seen firsthand just how devastating the COVID-19 virus can be.
“It’s just a breath of fresh air,” said New Orleans paramedic Alexia Archage, who got the Moderna vaccine Thursday afternoon.
Archage helped transport the city’s first COVID-19 patient.
“I feel so much more comfortable knowing that if not for me, for the people that I love. I can make them a little bit safer,” said Archage.
Even with the Moderna vaccine joining the one from Pfizer, Figueroa says it’s not a time to get complacent. COVID numbers in Louisiana show this third surge is only getting worse. Figueroa urges folks to keep following guidelines.
“There is going to be worsening, there is no doubt about that. We’re going to see worse but at the end of this we’re going to be in a situation where will be able to protect everyone,” said Figueroa.
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