SALT LAKE CITY — The first shipment of the COVID-19 vaccine arrived in Utah Monday.
READ: COVID-19 vaccine arrives in Utah
On Tuesday, the first doses will be administered to health care workers on the front lines — people like registered nurse Ben Greenberg.
Oh, hello #COVID19 #vaccine. This is a look some of the first doses here in #Utah . Frontline healthcare workers will be the first to get it. All #Utahns should be able to get the #vaccine by July. Here is the timeline: https://t.co/53YBBbPH6a
Video: @Intermountain pic.twitter.com/gO5RfZYK5Z— Sydney Glenn (@SydneyGlennTV) December 14, 2020
“I am very excited about the vaccine. It means another level of protection,” he said.
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It has been a crazy several months, Greenberg said. He works in the intensive care unit and has seen the devastating impacts of the virus.
“It has been really hard seeing families not being able to come in and see their loved ones and them passing away,” he said.
READ: Utah reports 1,968 new COVID-19 cases; 7 new deaths
While all frontline health care workers at Intermountain Healthcare have been provided with personal protective equipment, having a vaccine will ease a lot of stress, Greenberg said.
“It is scary thinking about taking this home to your family and having to deal with that on the home front,” he said.
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Greenberg said it’s exciting to be able to see the hope that the vaccine provides.
“I know there are some people who are a little nervous about the side effects and the newness of it all, but I feel really comfortable,” he said.
READ: Teachers ‘surprised, excited’ to learn they will be among first Utahns to be vaccinated
This is a step in the right direction but does not mean people can stop taking precautions, such as social distancing and wearing a mask, Greenberg said. The hospitals need Utahns to help slow the spread.
“We are still so full of COVID patients in the ICU that we are having a hard time treating everyone,” he said.
To read the timeline for the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine in Utah, click here.