SAGINAW, MI – Ten staff at Ascension St. Mary’s Hospital in Saginaw rolled up their sleeves in a special ceremony on Wednesday to receive the first doses of the Modern COVID-19 vaccine at the hospital.
“What we did here today will, in my opinion, basically change the world,” said assistant physician Steven Berge, who works in Ascension St. Mary’s emergency department.
Ascension St. Mary’s received the newly approved Modern vaccine on the morning of Wednesday, December 23. Both the new Modern vaccine and the Pfizer injection require two doses several weeks apart. The second dose must be from the same company as the first. The main difference is the storage requirements – the Pfizer injection must be stored in special ultra-cold freezers, while the Moderna product can be stored in normal vaccine storage equipment.
According to Ascension spokeswoman Christine Bergman, the Saginaw facility was one of the locations intended to receive the Modern vaccine, as the Pfizer vaccine was distributed to other Ascension sites with ultra-cooled storage capacity.
A blessing was given when the first 10 employees met to receive the vaccine on Wednesday. The first to receive the vaccine was registered nurse Tammy Zehnder, who was at the forefront of the COVID-19 pandemic in more than just Saginaw.
Zehnder explained that she traveled to Texas for four weeks and Detroit earlier this year to help with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemics, using her skills as a nurse to help in areas where patients were overburdened. What she saw while fighting the pandemic in Saginaw and elsewhere was not easy to deal with.
“It has been difficult – many stressful times, many sad times. It is difficult to see patients without family members present. We are doing the best we can to make them comfortable and be with them, ”she said.
But receiving the vaccine gave her and other Ascension health professionals the hope that there will be a light at the end of the tunnel.
“You can see the light, it’s just a matter of time. We will overcome this, we are strong, we will overcome ”, said Zehnder.
The occasion was festive, with some members of the Ascension team dressed in holiday-themed clothing. The vaccine was a gift in itself, according to the team that volunteered for the injection.
“I kind of realized that I got my Christmas present earlier today,” said Berge.
“I am very happy with that, I think I am happy that it was offered to me. I certainly didn’t hesitate to take it, ”said Berge. “I see, we have to do something to control what is happening with this disease.”
Microbiology coordinator Kathy Sutto wore a Santa hat and a sparkling Christmas light necklace while receiving the vaccine, saying she was nervous and excited at the same time. Before being a little skeptical before receiving the vaccine, she took seriously what an infection control nurse at Ascension told her.
“She really had a very good point that I would rather risk taking the injection and maybe have a slight reaction than actually getting the virus itself,” said Sutto.
Sutto and his colleagues encouraged others to get vaccinated.
“Just consider, fully consider,” she said.
With the holiday season in full swing, Berge said it is still important to use common sense and practice social detachment and hand washing. He also encouraged people to do what he is going to do on vacation – which is to stay at home.
“I know it is difficult at Christmas time to stay at home, but sometimes we all have to make sacrifices to improve what is going on,” he said.
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