HOUSTON — More than six million doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine could be ready to roll by mid-December. Locally, Memorial Hermann is more than ready to help administer it.
“I think the vaccines are the first step on getting us back to where we were,” chief physician executive Dr. James McCarthy said.
But McCarthy cautions FDA approval must come first.
"What’s not being rushed is the science and review," McCarthy said. "What is being rushed is the availability, the mass production. And we’re asking the FDA to stop everything else and look at this now because of how important it is.”
McCarthy said Memorial Hermann is one of four Houston health systems set to get initial vaccine shipments thanks to meeting storage and refrigeration criteria.
At-risk people and certain hospital staff members are expected to be the first in line to receive the vaccine.
"The medically vulnerable and also our workforce that’s on the frontline in caring for COVID patients every day,” McCarthy said.
It’s hard to say how much of the vaccine hospitals will get since the federal government is in charge of distributing it to the states which then send it to medical facilities.
But Memorial Hermann’s vetting process is like most other hospitals. They rely on the FDA and its partners to make sure it comes with, among other things, as few side effects as possible.
"The overall medical community views vaccines as safe and reliable and an important part of the way we protect ourselves," McCarthy said. "Both personally and for the community.”