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The first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine occurred this morning, shortly after 10 am, at the São João Hospital Center. António Sarmento, director of the Infectious Diseases Service of the São João Hospital, 65 years old and 42 on call, was the first Portuguese to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine from the hand of nurse Isabel Ribeiro.
The first vaccine was administered at 10:07 am to the doctor António Sarmento under the gaze of the Minister of Health, Marta Temido, and dozens of journalists and television targets attended and to the sound of applause. The administration was carried out in the K5 zone, generally reserved for external consultations at the São João Hospital.
The doctor was under “observation” approximately half an hour after the inoculation, to check and prevent possible side effects.
After taking the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, António Sarmento appealed to the hospital administration for having given him the “honor of being the first to be vaccinated”, and the Minister of Health is “a way to show your solidarity and affection” with health professionals.
“I am absolutely comfortable with the vaccine”António Sarmento began by saying. “I am absolutely confident, optimistic, hopeful and I believe that I am like any other citizen. I will not run away from the vaccine, nor will I run after it”.
“They called me to do it and I did it with total peace of mind”continued the infectious disease doctor. “It is clear that the risk is not zero, but the risk is not zero for any new drug or vaccine that may be developed.”.
“Fortunately, this was all very safe.”he further stated. “Furthermore, humanity has made an effort never seen before, be it economic or scientific, now thanks to this vaccine. In fact, the scientific community has come together. In fact, there are no more barriers ”..
“We have to have confidence”, he said, remembering that nothing in life is “zero risk” and allowing himself to be vaccinated “quietly” is a “great help to humanity”.
“This is a call to our altruism and I believe that people will respond and do so with conviction”, he concluded.
Nurse Isabel Ribeiro also spoke with journalists and welcomed the opportunity to be the first to administer the vaccine to a fellow healthcare professional.
“Now we feel protection for our colleagues, because it has been the most difficult year of our careers. I think it is a hope for us to continue our work in this fight against Covid-19.”said the nurse who will also be vaccinated this Sunday.
“It was a very tough month”he continued. “But this encourages us to continue”.
At Hospital São João, the vaccination “mega-operation” mobilizes around 100 professionals capable of handling and administering the Pfizer vaccine.
During the day, several health professionals will be vaccinated in the outpatient area of the hospital, where 25 nursing posts were prepared. The goal is to vaccinate 2,125 professionals from this institution in the next ten hours – from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Marta Temido was present at the official start of vaccination against Covid-19, at the São João Hospital Center in Porto, and considered that this it was a moment “full of symbolism”.
“It symbolizes the ability we had to work together in the first place.”he began by saying. “Because for many months, health professionals from the National Health Service and professionals from a group from other sectors of our society have been collaborating, in order to guarantee better care, better assistance to those who need care because they are infected or be suspected of having Covid-19 “.
“On the other hand, the ability that these same professionals had, in the last hours, to work together. To be here today, it was necessary not only that the logistical component of the National Health Service, the Hospital Common Use Service but also the National Institute of Pharmacy and Medicine, the General Health Directorate, the Ricardo Jorge National Health Institute, guaranteed a set of operations so that the vaccine reaches the hospitals where the Covid-19 Vaccination Plan begins today “.
The Minister of Health also mentioned the work of the different health professionals from the hospitals in Lisbon, Porto and Coimbra who guaranteed, even on Sunday “Make the best use of the vaccine as soon as possible.”
“Today the São João Hospital Center will vaccinate practically all the professionals selected for this first moment”, continued the minister, admitting that “It is a very intense effort”.
Marta Temido also referred to the European Union “Assign financial means, join forces for the joint purchasing process and the joint negotiation process” and also for what “The distribution would take place the same day”, as soon as the administration of the vaccine began this Sunday in all the Member States.
“Unity makes us stronger”said Marta Temido, who asked that this “union be maintained, work together” because “If we managed to get here it was because we arrived together”.
The Health Minister also reiterated that vaccinating against Covid-19 in the first place for health professionals was a “pragmatic option” and that the vaccination program in structures for the elderly begins in January.
“[Foi] a pragmatic choice in a moment that is only the first moment of a phase. We received vaccines yesterday and we will receive more vaccines tomorrow [segunda-feira] and we will receive more vaccines in the four weeks of January. We estimate that in these weeks of January we will go from vaccines to health professionals to vaccines to residential structures for the elderly ”.Marta Temido said.
As for homes and other residential institutions, “progress” is being made in identifying priority groups and vaccinating the people identified in January, but there has been no commitment on specific dates.
How is the vaccination process?
The director of Pharmaceutical Services of this hospital, Pedro Soares, told RTP that even before 8:00 am the entire team involved in this operation was ready to handle the vaccines that arrived in Portugal on Saturday.
“The team has worked perfectly. It has carried out the plan without failures”said the official.
Each small portion of this vaccine has five doses and must be handled very precisely and under aseptic conditions before the vaccine is administered.
Before being inoculated, the vaccine is “diluted in 1.8 milliliters of serum,” explained Pedro Soares. The syringes leave the Pharmaceutical Services ready to be administered. Each syringe has 0.3 milliliters that “Contains a 30 microgram dose of viral RNA”.
This vaccine has the specific characteristic of needing to be at temperatures lower than or equal to minus 80 degrees. Although it has to go through a “thawing” process before being administered, it is transported in thermal bags between the pharmaceutical services and the nursing stations, “but only to guarantee the robustness of the transport, because cold is no longer needed.”
When a vial is opened, the vaccine is valid for six hours.
They are expected to leave about 100 vaccines per hour from the Pharmaceutical Services of this hospital, and in a “peak” they will be around 200 per hour.
According to experts, This vaccine is given in two doses, with an interval of 21 days between the first and the second dose, and immunization is expected to begin seven days after the second dose.
The first batch of Covid-19 vaccines arrived in Portugal on Saturday. Escorted by security forces, the refrigerated vehicle transporting the Pfizer vaccines, two boxes with a total weight of 41 kilograms, entered the perimeter of the storage unit in the Coimbra district around 9:45 am.
