HEALTHCARE personnel, public health officials, Gov. Ralph DLG Torres, Bishop Ryan Jimenez and Saipan Mayor David M. Apatang were among those who received the Covid-19 vaccine at the Commonwealth Healthcare Corp.’s Medical Care and Treatment Site on Saturday morning.
Front-line staff of the Commonwealth Healthcare Corp. fall in line to get the Covid-19 vaccine Saturday morning at the CHCC Medical Care and Treatment Site.
Photo by Curt Klemstein
The first batch of Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine shots was administered at 7:30 a.m.
CHCC Director of Nursing Renea Raho was the first to receive the shot followed by the governor. Also receiving the shots were CHCC Chief Executive Officer Esther Muna, CNMI Covid-19 Task Force Chairman Warren Villagomez and Bureau of Environmental Health Director John Tagabuel.
Gov. Ralph DLG Torres receives the Covid-19 vaccine on Saturday morning at the CHCC Medical Care and Treatment Site.
Office of the Governor photo
In an interview, Muna said, “We need to protect our health system which consists of hardworking personnel, and these include our nurses who are in the frontline of treating patients with Covid-19.”
She added, “We need to protect those that can protect and help heal us. As we have reported, the Pfizer vaccines have strict logistical requirements, and it is just one of the reasons we follow [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] guidelines for priority.”
The CNMI has received doses for over 2,000 individuals, Muna said adding, “we were assured that we will get more vaccines in the coming weeks as we get more people vaccinated.”
She thanked everyone for their patience as “this is only the beginning of the rollout.”
Commonwealth Healthcare Corp. medical director Dr. John M. Tudela receives the Covid-19 vaccine at the CHCC Medical Care and Treatment Site on Saturday.
Photo by Emmanuel T. Erediano
In a separate interview, Villagomez said they were very happy that the setup for the first vaccination went well as planned.
He said over 80 individuals from first responder agencies and CHCC were pre-registered for the initial round of vaccination.
Gov. Ralph DLG Torres was among those who received the Covid-19 vaccine on Saturday morning at the CHCC Medical Care and Treatment Site.
Office of the Governor
“We had Department of Public Safety police officers controlling the crowd and the traffic. Our healthcare workers who were registered for the vaccine were all here — we had a good turnout and we are continuing on. So we hope to continue this campaign and effectively reach out to the rest of our people after our first responders and healthcare workers and the vulnerable populations like the manamko’ got theirs,” he said.
For his part, Tagabuel is encouraging everyone to take the vaccine.
“If anything, it is an added protection against anything that might come down later on. We build up our immunity by taking vaccines, and the vaccines in general are over 95% effective,” he said.
“Although the risk here is very low, now, finally, the vaccine is here. Let’s protect ourselves and let’s protect our community,” Tagabuel added.
Special Assistant for Homeland Security and Emergency Management Gerald Deleon Guerrero said the Covid-19 vaccination “is the beginning of the end of the tunnel.”
“We have been responding to this pandemic,” he added. “Now that the vaccine is here on island, we have a brighter outlook moving forward…. We will soon have enough for everyone.”
Prior the getting the shot, a patient’s registration will be verified first.
After getting the shot, the patient proceeds to the observation room where he or she stays for 15 minutes so that doctors can see if there is any adverse effect.
Then, the patient is given a card that he or she will bring back for the second shot 21 days later.
Muna noted that another Covid-19 vaccine brand, Moderna, has also received emergency use authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
“Hopefully they can make it available for vulnerable populations first, then, to the entire community,” she added.
