Following weeks of preparation, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Somerset, an RWJBarnabas Health facility, began administering the Pfizer- BioNTech vaccine to its high-risk, frontline employees and medical staff today. The hospital opened its employee vaccine clinic at 7:30 this morning.
Jennilyn Juan, RN, of Metuchen, a nurse on the hospital’s 1-East patient care unit, and Darrel Soo Hoo, of Monroe Township, an X-ray technician in the hospital’s Radiology Department, were the first employees to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
“I feel like it is my duty as a health care provider to get the vaccine to protect the community,” said Juan, who has worked at the hospital for two years.
Soo Hoo, who takes portable X-ray machines to COVID-19 patients’ bedside to do chest X-rays, said he wanted to get the vaccine to prevent from spreading the virus to his 87-year-old father, who lives with him. Soo Hoo has worked at the hospital for 28 years.
RWJBarnabas Health (RWJBH) has been working diligently with the state to support the New Jersey Department of Health’s ambitious vaccination plan to get 70 percent of the state’s adult population vaccinated in six months. As the largest, most comprehensive academic health care system in New Jersey, RWJBarnabas Heath is committed to treating and saving the lives of patients with COVID-19, and also to fighting the spread of the disease, protecting its team members and ending the pandemic. With the opening of its employee vaccine clinic today, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Somerset is proud to be an integral part of the national and New Jersey COVID-19 vaccination effort. Public health officials and medical experts believe vaccination is an important step in helping to prevent or lessen the effect of COVID-19 and its potentially devastating consequences.
“It’s an exciting day for our hospital and for our community and an important milestone in the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Tony Cava, president and CEO, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Somerset. “This vaccine brings light after much darkness. I encourage all of our staff and physicians to get the vaccine to protect themselves and their families.”
The Pfizer- BioNTech vaccine received emergency use authorization by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on December 11, 2020. Vaccine safety and efficacy for Pfizer’s vaccine has been issued Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) by the FDA. FDA authorization of a vaccine means the agency has determined, based on substantial evidence and a stringent review process, that the vaccine is safe and effective for its intended use. The vaccine has been shown to be 95 percent effective and requires two doses received 21 days apart. The vaccine is voluntary for employees and medical staff and is being offered free of charge.
Due to limited supply, the vaccine is being given in phases based on prioritization order. The prioritization order for RWJBarnabas Health staff is determined by the risk of contracting COVID-19 from exposures while at work, primarily by job setting. RWJBarnabas Health facilities expect to vaccinate staff over a 6-week period (weeks 1-3 first dose; weeks 4-6 second dose).
About Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Somerset
Located in Somerville, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (RWJUH) Somerset, an RWJBarnabas Health facility, is a nationally accredited, 341-bed regional hospital providing comprehensive emergency, medical/surgical, behavioral health and rehabilitative services to central New Jersey residents. As a designated teaching hospital of Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, the hospital maintains a family medicine residency program with 21 residents.
RWJUH Somerset has earned significant national recognition for clinical quality and patient safety including the prestigious Magnet® Award for Nursing Excellence and an “A” Patient Safety Score from the Leapfrog Group. As the first hospital in New Jersey to offer primary health care services for the LGBTQIA community, RWJUH Somerset has been honored as a Leader in LGBT Healthcare Equality by the Human Rights Campaign.
The Steeplechase Cancer Center at RWJUH Somerset has been designated as a Comprehensive Community Cancer Center by the American College of Surgeons’ Commission on Cancer. RWJBarnabas Health and RWJUH Somerset in partnership with Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey - the state's only NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center - bring a world class team of researchers and specialists to fight alongside you, providing close-to-home access to the latest treatment and clinical trials.
For more information, visit www.rwjbh.org/somerset
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