Vaccine Update: Top 10 Things to Know

Please note: SVMC does not have the COVID-19 vaccine yet, and is not collecting names of individuals to receive the vaccine.  

#1: As Pfizer and Moderna apply for emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration, vaccine is already on its way to Vermont.

#2: Vermont expects to receive an initial supply of vaccine to cover around 6,000 people  with additional vaccine arriving at least weekly.

#3: The first to be vaccinated will be frontline workers, including those working with sick patients in the hospital and acute care settings followed by other healthcare workers and first responders.

#4: Also in phase 1 are older adults living in congregant settings and people of all ages with underlying conditions that put them at high risk. See the estimated timeline below. 

#5: The complete list of who will be vaccinated and in what priority continues to be developed at the federal, state, and local level. It is based on each group’s risk of contracting COVID-19 and their vulnerabilities.

#6: We are preparing to administer the vaccine in the same way we gave flu shots throughout October. Clinics will take place in the parking lot closest to the Monument Avenue Extension entrance. Patients will drive up and receive the vaccine through their car window. As time passes, COVID-19 vaccination will be available at your provider’s office.

#7: As with other vaccines, a small percentage of individuals may experience a brief period of fatigue, myalgia, and headache.

#8: When we take the production capabilities of each of the 10 candidate vaccines into account, it is possible that almost everyone who would like a vaccine will be vaccinated by fall of 2021.  

#9: The vaccine will end the pandemic in 2021 in some countries. COVID-19 will continue as a disease similar to the many other infectious diseases in society, disproportionately affecting the vulnerable.

#10: There are still unknowns, like how long the protection will last and how often we will need to be revaccinated. We trust that science will answer those questions, once the data is available.

Trey Dobson, MD, is chief medical officer at Southwestern Vermont Medical Center.