Vaccine arrives in area

MOSCOW — Nina Benichou rolled up her sleeve Friday and became the first person from Gritman Medical Center to receive the COVID-19 vaccination.

“This is a very special and happy moment for us as a health care community in the fight against COVID-19,” Gritman spokesman Peter Mundt said.

Staff members at Pullman Regional Hospital and Tri-State Memorial Hospital in Clarkston also received shots Friday as the vaccine made its first appearance in southeastern Washington and north central Idaho.

Mundt said Benichou has been a registered nurse for 10 years, including the last eight years at Gritman. She has worked the last seven years as a nurse in Gritman’s critical care and medical surgical units.

“Nina and her colleagues have provided extraordinary care for many COVID-19 patients here at Gritman during the pandemic,” Mundt said.

Benichou said she was “very grateful to receive the first vaccine” from Gritman.

Connie Osborn, Gritman chief quality officer, provided Benichou a commemorative “I GOT MY COVID-19 VACCINE!” sticker after a Gritman registered nurse vaccinated Benichou with the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.

“As medical staff, we are encouraged and excited about this next big step of the emergency use authorization for the COVID-19 vaccine,” said Dr. Nick Garrett, Gritman emergency physician.

Garrett said officials will not see the full effects of the vaccine for several months, so he encouraged the public to continue to wear face coverings, socially distance and limit indoor gatherings.

Also Friday, Pullman Regional Hospital administered Whitman County’s first doses of the vaccine to its staff. Those who received the vaccine are the health care workers who meet the criteria for Phase 1a of Washington’s vaccine allocation plan.

PRH spokeswoman Megan Guido said Palouse Medical staff also were expected to receive their vaccine shots.

Whitman Hospital and Medical Centers staff will receive their shots in Pullman.

Tri-State Memorial Hospital posted pictures on its Facebook page Friday showing members of its staff being vaccinated.

“The COVID-19 vaccine is a light at the end of a long tunnel,” the post said.

Washington State University announced Thursday the initial 975 doses of the vaccine arrived in Pullman and are being stored in an ultra-cold freezer provided by the university.

Back at Gritman, Kathie LaFortune, a Gritman pediatric physical therapist and Latah County commissioner, received the COVID-19 vaccine Friday.

“I didn’t even feel the shot,” said LaFortune. She said she felt fine after receiving the vaccine and that she walked to and from the hospital.

Mundt said Gritman will administer the 350 doses of the vaccine it received from Public Health – Idaho North Central District in the next few days. He said Gritman employees and critical medical personnel who fall in the COVID-19 priority distribution group established by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the state of Idaho will receive the first doses of the vaccine.

The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is given in two doses, three weeks apart, a Gritman news release said Friday.

A Gritman news release Tuesday said as vaccines become more widely available in the weeks and months to come, they will begin being offered to priority populations and eventually the general public as recommended by state and federal public health officials.

Cabeza can be reached at (208) 883-4631, or by email to gcabeza@dnews.com. Kuipers can be reached at akuipers@dnews.com.