Relief, satisfaction from first covid-19 vaccine recipients in Monroeville

Medical workers who received the covid-19 vaccine in Monroeville expressed relief and satisfaction with the process Jan. 6.

“I’ve been waiting for this all year,” said Ben Haddis, 23, of Oakland moments after receiving the shot at The DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Pittsburgh-Monroeville Convention Center in Monroeville.

Haddis was one of several people invited to receive the Moderna covid-19 vaccine that day. As a medical assistant at an Allison Park clinic, he qualified as a Phase 1A worker — the category of people currently getting vaccinated in the state. They include health care workers and residents and workers in long-term care facilities, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“It’s nice to not have to worry about my health and my family’s health as much anymore,” Haddis said, adding that many family members work in the medical field.

The Allegheny County Health Department set up two POD sites this week for people like Haddis. One site was at the department’s clinic in downtown Pittsburgh and the second was at the Monroeville hotel.

The vaccinations in long-term care facilities are being handled through a federal partnership with CVS Pharmacy and Walgreens. The Monroeville hotel happens to be structurally connected to the CVS Specialty Pharmacy.

Other recipients of the vaccine were impressed with the efficiency of it all.

“It was extremely efficient,” said Nick Gira, a registered nurse who works at a MedExpress in Moon.

Gira, 28, of Moon said the process took about 20 minutes. As he walked in, he was guided into a partitioned area to register, which included verifying his identity. When that was finished, he was ushered into another separate area to receive the injection.

After the injection, recipients were put in a third separate area, where they were told to wait for 15 minutes.

“To make sure there were no side effects,” said Lisa Donnelly, another 1A recipient of the vaccine.

Some of the side effects, according to a fact sheet given to the 1A recipients, include difficulty breathing, swelling of the face and throat, a fast heartbeat, a bad rash all over the body and dizziness and weakness.

Donnelly, 54, of Murrysville also said she is relieved.

“There’s a certain amount of weight that’s been lifted. It’s just another layer of protection for us,” she said. Donnelly works as a registered nurse in a facility that serves Allegheny and surrounding counties. She said a group of co-workers went to get vaccinated Wednesday.

Donnelly compared the covid-19 vaccine to getting the flu shot.

“I do think the general public should get it when it’s available,” she said. “So far, it’s safe and it’s been tested.”

Gira agreed. He said the longer people wait to get vaccinated, the longer society will continue to experience shutdowns and mitigation efforts related to curbing the spread of the virus.

“Unless you medically can’t get vaccinated, or for whatever reason, I don’t see why you wouldn’t do it,” he said.

Each vaccine recipient also received a fact sheet about the vaccine, which was produced by Moderna — a biotechnology company that received an Emergency Use Authorization for its covid-19 vaccine.

The vaccine, according to the fact sheet provided to recipients, is administered in two doses, one month apart, and “it may not protect everyone.”

Each person who received the vaccine also got a vaccination card, which they are to use when they return for the second dose.

“The Moderna covid-19 vaccine is an unapproved vaccine,” reads the fact sheet. “In clinical trials, approximately 15,400 individuals 18 years of age and older have received at least 1 dose of the Moderna covid-19 vaccine.”

It said the vaccine has been shown to prevent the disease following two doses spaced out a month apart, but “the duration of protection against covid-19 is currently unknown.”