By MICHAEL HINMAN
Kelley Dixon could barely hold her mask loose on her face as he sat down in a chair in front of a man with a syringe.
That man was Walgreens chemist Mitchel Zaretsky, and inside his syringe was a small amount of water that could have been the key to the 78-year-old Hebrew Home of a Riverdale resident s once black her face mask: the coronavirus vaccine.
“Are you ready?” Zaretsky asked.
“Go for it,” Dixon replied with obvious confidence.
It is no longer the end of the beginning, as it has been for months in the treatment of pandemic coronavirus infection. For Daniel Reingold, this is now the beginning of the end.
Dixon became the first Hebrew Home Resident to receive the coronavirus vaccine Monday morning, beginning a three-day, expected process involving all 600 of his cohabitants, and most of the 1,000 workers at the Hebrew home.
“What I told people was that there were a lot of bad parts in the early spring,” said Reingold, president and chief executive of RiverSpring Health – a parent group of Hebrew Home. “But I think the scariest part was we didn’t know when it was going to end. It felt endless darkness. ”
That changed in early November when Pfizer became the first pharmaceutical company to announce that a vaccine was ready to go.
“It has literally been within a few weeks, since word came that this was coming, that I have been feeling full of hope and joy and hope,” Reingold said. “We’re not out of the woods yet, but at least this is just the beginning. ”
Walgreens was one of two national drug store chains registered to distribute the vaccine, and is responsible for providing photos at the Hebrew home. To store the vaccine, freezers that reach up to 112 degrees below zero Fahrenheit are required, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A conventional home freezer is usually set to 20 degrees below zero – if not zero – which means that the coronavirus vaccine must be kept at a temperature that is not felt anywhere on the planet but at the southernmost pole.
Walgreens provided vaccine views over the next three days to all Hebrew Home residents, and most of the paid staff, with priority given to those working on the front lines, according to the Palace. Dr. Zachary, medical director of the Hebrew home.
Walgreens will return in three weeks to give not only second doses to residents, but the first doses to those missed the first time. They then return one last time at the beginning of February to provide final views.
That should mean, Valentine’s Day will come, nursing homes like the Hebrew home will be effectively free of the pandemic. But that doesn’t automatically mean that life will return to normal.
“Regardless of the vaccine, we will continue to use our infection control practices,” Palace said. That means everyone will still have a mask. There will still be hand washing. There will be no standard dinner. And social distance will be paramount.
“The jury is still investigating whether people who are still vaccinated can become infected and become carriers,” Palace said. “That’s why we need to maintain these practices. At least for now. “
While the vaccine is being welcomed throughout the home, there is no place where it is needed more than in a Hebrew Home dementia unit, the doctor said.
“Our population is so vulnerable and therefore at risk, but the subgroup most at risk are those with mental health problems,” Palace said. “They can’t understand social distance, and maintain the mask on the face. We consider them to be the biggest threat, and that is the population we are targeting the most. “
Dixon said his vaccine was painless. In fact, he said he didn’t even realize Zaretsky had overcame him – but he was thrilled to be vaccinated.
“That’s the reason they all have it,” he said. “You live longer, and you’re safer.”
The new vaccine for Hebrew Home and other nursing homes may be around, but it has been trying to tap into other major health care facilities as early as last week. For example, NYC Health + Hospitals launched vaccines at the Elmhurst facility, Queens, on December 16th.
Still, the production and administration of the vaccine will take time, public health officials warn. That means the country may not see some pre-pandemic normalcy until the end of next summer, at the earliest.
“This is probably the single largest mobile move the United States has made since D-Day,” Reingold said. “There may be wisdom, and we must be patient. We need to be flexible. ”
But at least for now, after months upon months of despair, Reingold wants to just sit in this positive moment. Positive emotion, ie
“We’ve talked about this with our residents, and our residents tell us,‘ We’ve been through a lot worse, ’” Reingold said. “We have been through World War II, and the Depression, and the Holocaust, and polio and diphtheria.
“It’s a reminder of the wisdom of age, and the strength of aging. And that has been very attractive and encouraging. ”
But sometimes, “you have to do it,” Dixon said.
“I had no worries (pandemic), but I was very aware of it. I did all the protocols, because you know, I like to live. ”