By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
COVID-19 vaccinations will begin tomorrow at Mosaic Life Care.
Mosaic Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Davin Turner, says after months of fighting the coronavirus pandemic, this moment is a real breakthrough.
“I’m finally getting to stand up here and announce something we have all been waiting for and that is that we received vaccine this morning,” Turner tells reporters at a news conference in St. Joseph Monday.
Mosaic received 975 doses of the Pfizer vaccine and 1,500 doses of the Moderna vaccine, the amount it requested. Vaccinations will take place in St. Joseph, Maryville, and Albany.
Turner says frontline workers will be the first to be vaccinated.
“That means nurses. That means environmental services, those folks that clean those rooms. That means our cafeteria workers that go up on the floors and hand out trays. That also means our doctors,” Turner says.
Vaccinations begin tomorrow. Mosaic hopes to vaccinate 40 staff members on the first day, building up to 100 a day and eventually 200 a day. Vaccinations will pause for the Christmas break, then resume next week. Both vaccinations require two shots with significant intervals between shots.
Turner says the announcement lifted the spirits of the Mosaic staff.
“It was quite a joyous time,” Turner says. “You could actually feel the energy as you’re walking in the building as people were finding out that the vaccine had arrived. There’s a lot of hope and there’s also eagerness to start vaccination.”
It comes as an early Christmas present.
“I would say it’s an early Christmas present, yes.”