February 3, 2021
It is hard to believe that we have been living through the COVID-19 global pandemic for nearly a year. And while there is still a long way to go until we can return to some semblance of normalcy, COVID vaccines are beginning to bring light to the end of this tunnel.
Two vaccines, one from Moderna and one from Pfizer, are now available in the United States and both have shown in clinical trials to be 95% effective at protecting people against the coronavirus. They also appear to be extremely safe.
University Medical Center, following guidelines of the Alabama Department of Public Health, began administering the Moderna vaccine in early January to the highest priority group at The University of Alabama – frontline health-care workers. Since then, we were able to add to that list UA employees and retirees age 75 and older, UA law enforcement and security personnel, and UMC patients age 75 and older.
While we all would like for the vaccines to be widely available right now, unfortunately they are not, and following ADPH guidelines seeks to ensure that the most vulnerable are protected first from COVID-19.
We have had tremendous response from individuals who meet the current vaccination criteria. As ADPH moves through the subsequent categories, and as more vaccine becomes available, our goal is to vaccinate members in those groups as quickly as we can. At UMC, we will continue to do our very best to keep you informed about vaccine availability and when you might be eligible for vaccination.
During the past year, as we watched this global pandemic unfold, we put precautions and protocols in place, implemented new methods to safely take care of our patients, and continued to provide high-quality care for our patients and the community. As 2020 drew to a close, we began implementing a vaccination process in anticipation of receiving vaccine doses. Currently, we have vaccinated hundreds of people and patients and continue to do so.
I am proud of our team here at UMC. Dealing with COVID-19 has been and continues to be a tremendous amount of work, but it is also a tremendous accomplishment. And while there are still so many more people to vaccinate, this is our mission, and there is nothing more impactful that we can do right now.
Taking care of people and the health of our community is what we do.
The College of Community Health Sciences operates University Medical Center
