BGH staff receive first COVID vaccines

SANDPOINT — Bonner General Health received its first doses of a COVID-19 vaccine this week, specifically for its frontline workers.

The first six BGH healthcare workers received their first dose of the Pfizer BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine on Friday, BGH officials announced Friday afternoon in a press release.

Bonner General Health said they will continue administering vaccinations to its staff through Monday.

Employees were surveyed about whether they would like to receive the vaccine, which requires a second dose in 21 days. For those who said they want the vaccine, the first round was administered today, with more doses expected to be available in the coming weeks.

Bonner General Health received a total of 90 vaccines in its first round, hospital officials said.

“We are grateful to be included in this first round of distribution and are encouraged and hopeful to see the vaccine more widely available to our staff and community in 2021," Sheryl Rickard, Bonner General Health CEO, said. "It’s the first step in getting control of this pandemic.”

ER Physician, Dr. Stacey Good, was one of the first frontline workers at Bonner General Health to receive the vaccination on Friday.

“It feels a lot like voting. I not only see it as a right but a social responsibility," Good said. "If I get COVID, statistics are on my side that I will most likely be all right. But it’s not just about me; this pandemic was never about individuals regardless of what was portrayed."

As an ER physician, Good said her average patient age is 70. Her parents and in-laws have bad lungs, bad aortas, and bad hearts.

"If they get COVID, they will not do well," Good said. "I have seen when people don’t do well. It’s who I take care of and what I do every day in the emergency department."

“There may be side effects to this vaccine. There may be politics that I don’t support behind big pharma supplying the vaccine, but the lives of those I love and the patients I care for are more important than all those things.”

Dr. Vince Huntsberger, director of Emergency Medicine, said he hopes anyone who is able to get the vaccine does.

“I hope everyone eligible for the vaccine receives it so we can get back to our normal lives and end this pandemic, Huntsberger said. "I feel the vaccine is safe and very effective. I would strongly recommend the vaccine to all eligible people.”

The first vaccine shipments to BGH were part of 1,950 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine sent to the Panhandle Health District. The doses are being divided between healthcare entities that have enrolled as COVID-19 vaccine providers who are taking care of positive COVID -19 patients.

“This is the moment we’ve all been waiting for and it’s important to take a minute to celebrate this momentous accomplishment for our country and our region,” said Lora Whalen, district director for PHD. “There is light at the end of this pandemic. We expect that the vaccine will be widely available to the general public by spring 2021, so it’s important to continue to practice the preventative measures we have available to us; wear a mask in public, keep your distance from others, wash your hands frequently, and stay home if you are sick.”

With an anticipated upcoming shipment of the 4,000 Moderna vaccines to PHD’s jurisdiction, pending the FDA’s Emergency Use Authorization, PHD staff have been actively planning for the allocation of doses with various healthcare entities and providers. Though shipments of the Moderna vaccine are anticipated soon, PHD’s jurisdiction will continue receiving regular shipments of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.

For more information about the vaccine, visit the CDC or Panhandle Health District.