By GRANT SCHULTE-0Associated Press
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) - Nebraska received its first shipment of the new coronavirus vaccine on Monday and expects to get more than 100,000 doses this month to treat front-line health care workers, state officials said.
Dr. Gary Anthone, Nebraska's chief medical officer, said initial shipments arrived at two hospitals by mid-morning.
"We only know that we expect to receive ... 15,600 within the next 24 to 48 hours," Anthone said at a news conference with Gov. Pete Ricketts.
Nebraska's distribution plan calls for the first vaccine doses to go to front-line health workers and other key professions, including meatpacking workers and teachers. Ricketts said the general public likely won't be eligible until April.
The Pfizer vaccine is set to go to eight Nebraska hospitals, which state officials have refused to identify, citing security concerns.
CHI Health Vice President of Pharmacy Mike Tiesi said four boxes of Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine- 3,900 doses - arrived at CHI Health Creighton University Medical Center - Bergan Mercy hospital in Omaha on Monday morning. The hospital group-administered its first shots to health care workers Monday afternoon.
CHI expects to receive additional doses soon at its St. Elizabeth hospital in Lincoln, Tiesi said, and its St. Francis hospital in Grand Island expects to receive a shipment Tuesday.
"This is the hope we have been looking for, waiting for," Tiesi said. "I can't wait until this gets into the hands - or the arms - of the general public later this spring."
Officials at Bryan Health in Lincoln said they also received their first shipment Monday and vaccinated several employees that afternoon.
Dr. Bill Johnson was excited to be one of the first because of what it means for the fight against the coronavirus.
"It's important to continue to stay diligent. But this is truly the one way we have to battle viruses, with a vaccine. Today is the beginning of the end of this, in my opinion," said Johnson, who is a pulmonologist for Bryan Health.
Respiratory therapist Julie Bornemeier said she wanted to get the shot because she has seen too many people needlessly die from the virus.
"I'm excited for more people to get vaccinated so we can hopefully put an end to this," Bornemeier said.
The eight hospitals that are receiving the vaccine were chosen based on their ability to store Pfizer's vaccine in extreme cold, Anthone said. They will distribute doses to nine other hospitals. A vaccine produced by Moderna Inc., which is expected next week pending federal authorization for emergency use, will go to hospitals in rural areas that don't have that storage capability.
Shipments expected later this month have faced some delays, but Anthone said he still expects Nebraska to get 104,000 by month's end.
The number of people hospitalized with the coronavirus in Nebraska dipped below 700 Sunday for the first time since early November, but the total remains high.
The state said 692 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 on Sunday, down from 711 a day earlier. That's the first time since Nov. 4 that the number of virus patients in hospitals was below 700. The total is still about triple what it was on Oct. 1.
Nebraska reported 1,173 new virus cases and eight new deaths Sunday to give the state 148,861 cases and 1,373 deaths since the pandemic began.
The seven-day rolling average of daily new cases in Nebraska decreased over the past two weeks, going from 1,756.29 new cases per day on Nov. 29 to 1,302.86 new cases per day on Sunday.