Nashville hospitals are preparing to receive thousands of doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine and give them to frontline staff immediately. Some facilities expect to have doses as soon as Monday.
At first, there won’t be enough vaccine to inoculate every health care worker, or even everyone who works inside a hospital. But hospitals will decide for themselves who goes first.
The region’s largest medical center, Vanderbilt, has been told to expect between 9,000 and 10,000 doses. That’s enough for about 5,000 clinicians. And Vanderbilt has already identified who has priority. First among them will be the nurses, doctors and respiratory therapists who work on the hospital’s COVID unit.
Saint Thomas and TriStar health systems will also receive an initial allotment. They have not said how many staffers they expect to vaccinate, but they plan to start next week.
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