Morgan Hughes
Casper Star Tribune, Wyo.
CASPER, Wyo. — Casper-Fire EMS firefighter Dane Andersen became the first person in Natrona County on Wednesday to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. He was followed closely by Division Chief Mark Harshman and a handful of members of the local fire department.
“It’s been a long time coming,” Andersen said Wednesday morning, standing in the Casper-Natrona County Health Department lobby. “I think that sense of relief has manifested in a lot of us.”
In total, about 10 firefighters received a Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine Wednesday. Wyoming Medical Center staff will also begin receiving their vaccinations Wednesday. Chief of Staff Dr. Andy Dunn will be the first.
The firefighters who received the vaccine Wednesday were just coming off their shifts, and have the next few days off, meaning they can monitor for side effects without affecting their work, county health department spokesperson Hailey Bloom said.
The department will be inoculating members of the various front-line departments throughout the county in phases for this reason, to ensure side effects don’t hamper an entire workforce.
Yesterday, 10 health care workers in Cheyenne received the first doses of the vaccine in Wyoming.
Soon, vaccines could be in every county in the state. So far, just Laramie and Natrona County health departments, and hospitals in Jackson, Cody and Gillette have received shipments. The Laramie County health department is expecting another shipment Monday.
How soon the vaccine could get to the rest of the state’s first phase recipients will depend on the federal government. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine Dec. 11 for emergency use, meaning it could start going to those most at-risk of exposure — health care workers and long-term care residents, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Guidelines.
A second vaccine could be approved this week. The biotech company Moderna has developed a vaccine it says in 94.5% effective, just half a percentage point shy of the Pfizer efficacy rate. That vaccine could be approved by the FDA this week. If that happens, shipments of either the Moderna or Pfizer vaccines will be in every Wyoming county by the end of next week, Wyoming Department of Health spokesperson Kim Deti said.
___
(c)2020 Casper Star Tribune, Wyo.