Baptist Health celebrates COVID-19 vaccine milestone
To date, Baptist Health has administered more than 3,000 COVID-19 vaccines to frontline healthcare workers.
RICHMOND, Ky. (December 29, 2020) – Hope. If you were to ask any of the Baptist Health team members their feelings going in to the new year – hope – would be a consistent theme due to the receiving and administering of the COVID-19 vaccine across the system.
On December 3 when Governor Beshear announced details regarding COVID-19 vaccine distribution for the state of Kentucky, the Baptist Health team stood prepared to distribute and administer the vaccine for all of our hospitals.
Initially, four hospitals in Kentucky were selected to receive the first doses— Baptist Health Corbin, Baptist Health Lexington, Baptist Health Louisville and Baptist Health Madisonville — and Baptist Health Floyd in Indiana.
Once the Moderna vaccine received emergency use authorization the remaining four hospitals received their first doses including – Baptist Health Hardin, Baptist Health LaGrange, Baptist Health Paducah and Baptist Health Richmond.
To date, Baptist Health has administered more than 3,000 COVID-19 vaccines to frontline healthcare workers including nurses, housekeepers, physicians, respiratory therapists and phlebotomists.
“The detailed planning and commitment to excellence our team has displayed in preparation to administer the vaccine has been remarkable,” said Greg D. Gerard, president of Baptist Health Richmond. “As we approach the New Year, our team is proud to be given the opportunity to begin this historic vaccinating process that will eventually lead to the end of this pandemic.”
As the accessibility to the vaccine increases in 2021, Baptist Health encourages the communities we serve to continue following the CDC guidelines to limit the spread of the virus.
“It’s critically important that we, as healthcare workers, and our community, continue to follow physical distancing guidelines, wear a mask and practice good hand hygiene, even if we have received the COVID-19 vaccine,” said Muhammad Iqbal, MD, Baptist Health Medical Group pulmonologist.