Some North Texas hospitals have received the supplies to administer COVID-19 vaccine

DALLAS - Some North Texas hospitals just received supplies that will be used to administer the COVID-19 vaccine.

Those supplies are in addition to the ultra-cold freezers they already obtained, which are required to store the doses at 70-below zero.

Some of those hospitals said there's been an extreme amount of detail that's gone into planning for vaccine arrival, so that once it is here, they'll be ready to start giving it out immediately.

Thursday was an exciting morning at some hospitals across the Metroplex, where shipments arrived filled with supplies that will be used to administer COVID-19 vaccines.

“The ancillary supplies came in this morning. My staff texted me and said, ‘The vaccines here,’ so everybody was like, ‘Oh, here we go.’ Then I had to go, ‘Oh, false alarm,’” said John Albrecht, with Methodist Health System.

But the boxes bearing syringes, saline solution, and even documentation that will prove a person has been vaccinated, are just another sign the vaccine is right around the corner.

Albrecht is managing the logistics of delivering the vaccine at Methodist Dallas Medical Center.

The hospital is due to receive about 5,800 doses in the first shipment, and the arrival of those doses will depend on when the FDA gives the green light.

But once the vaccine does arrive, it’ll start going out to healthcare workers almost immediately.

“We should be vaccinating within hours of receiving it,” Albrecht said.

In this photo illustration a doctor holds a bottle labelled as the Covid-19 coronavirus vaccine in Guwahati, India on 28 November 2020. (Photo illustration by David Talukdar/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

The hospital has prepared for this moment since the early days of this crisis.

It started working in March to get a freezer, ultimately getting one that can store up to 20,000 doses.

“I think we’re looking forward to moving on down the road. It seems like we’ve been in a holding pattern for a while,” Albrecht added.

Parkland will also receive about 5,800 doses initially.

“If we receive that vaccine that morning, we’re planning to begin vaccinating that afternoon,” Dr. Vivian Johnson said.

Dr. Johnson said the storage of the Pfizer vaccine is still one of the toughest parts.

Once removed from the freezer, it is thawed, then diluted, among other steps.

The hospital will have to make sure each vaccination is scheduled, so as not to thaw too many doses and waste precious vaccines.

“Out of the 30 something years that I’ve been a pharmacist, this has probably been one of the most complex medication management programs that I have seen in my profession,” Dr. Johnson explained.

But these hospitals are again rising to the challenge after months in the trenches battling COVID-19 both professionally and personally.

“I will be taking the vaccine because I’ve seen what it can do to family members, to friends,” Dr. Johnson added.

Johnson lost an uncle to the virus last month.       

It’s now her mission to help deliver the vaccine and help others avoid that heartbreak…

“In order for us to get out of this, we’re going to have to accept something like the COVID vaccine to get out from this devastating disease,” she added.

The Pfizer vaccine requires two doses, 21 days apart.

Healthcare workers are being prioritized over the general public for now.

It is hard to say when the vaccine will be available widely, but hospitals are already working on the logistics as to how that will happen.