WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Ten Triad healthcare workers became the first in the area to get the coronavirus vaccine Tuesday.
Those Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center doctors and nurses got their first vaccinations a day after the hospital received its shipment of vaccines.
Wake Forest Baptist is the first hospital in the Triad to get its first shipment of vaccines. It was also the first hospital in the nation to get its shipment from UPS.
"This vaccine is going to give us some relief," Venice Williams said.
Williams leads her fellow nurses treating coronavirus patients. Tuesday she set another example by becoming one of the first at the hospital to get the vaccine.
"You know, if they see me and kind of watch me afterward maybe that will encourage more people to become vaccinated so I was just appreciative to have the opportunity," Williams said.
The very first vaccine at Wake Forest Baptist went to a familiar face, Infectious Disease Expert Dr. Christopher Ohl.
"Getting the shot is like nothing to tell you the truth. I didn't even know it when it happened," Ohl said.
Each person vaccinated sat for 15 minutes of observation after getting their injection. Then they were able to resume their normal days.
Ohl said the vaccine will have a big impact as it comes 10 months into the pandemic.
"This is gonna be our ticket out of this and it's also gonna save a lot of lives," Dr. Ohl said, "It's gonna keep a lot of people out of the hospital and so for me this is a huge deal."
Wake Forest Baptist Health said the first round of vaccination served as a test run. Hospital leaders will meet Wednesday to talk about how it went before vaccinating a bigger group of health care workers on Thursday.
Hospital leaders said they could be vaccinating as many as 600 people a day next week.
Other Triad hospitals expect their first vaccine shipments on Thursday. Novant Health and Cone Health hope to start vaccinating shortly after.
"We'll do a few hopefully Thursday or Friday, we'll work through that and then we'll be immunizing through the weekend," Novant Health Infectious Disease Expert Dr. David Priest.
Cone Health hopes to start vaccinating as soon as Friday.