COVID-19 Vaccine Media Kit
Press Release
With guidance from faculty experts, Stanford Medicine prepares to deploy COVID-19 vaccine
December 16, 2020
Stanford Medicine is ready to inoculate health care workers against COVID-19 with the first vaccine authorized for emergency use in the United States.
The first vaccine Stanford Medicine will receive are the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. Initially, Stanford Health Care will receive 3,900 doses and Stanford Health Care – ValleyCare will receive 975 doses, with weekly shipments to follow. We will also be receiving shipments of the Moderna vaccine in coming weeks, but amounts are not yet defined.
- Stanford Health Care, Stanford Children’s Health, Stanford Health Care – ValleyCare, University Healthcare Alliance (UHA), and Packard Children’s Health Alliance (PCHA) staff, travelling nurses, contractors, volunteers
- Medical staff and medical group members
- Medical students, physician assistant students, trainees, residents, fellows
- School of Medicine employees with patient-facing responsibilities or COVID-19 research
- In partnership with other delivery systems: community providers
After the initial phases of vaccinations, we anticipate being able to provide vaccines to remote-only workers and volunteers.
No. The COVID-19 vaccine is not required, but strongly encouraged for all Stanford Medicine health care workers.
The Stanford Medicine community convened a multidisciplinary group of experts in ethics, infectious disease control, and operations to develop principles needed to determine an ethical sequencing for vaccine distribution. These principles – assuring the safety of essential health care workforce, mitigating the impact from health disparities, and ensuring equity and transparency throughout the process – informed the distribution models that serve as the basis for our approach today
Stanford Health Care received the vaccines on Thursday, December 17, directly from Pfizer in an amount determined by the Santa Clara County Department of Public Health. Stanford Health Care – ValleyCare, received their initial doses through an allocation from the Alameda County Department of Public Health on Thursday, December 17. Stanford Health Care – ValleyCare began vaccinations on December 17. Stanford Health Care expects to begin vaccinating as early as Friday, December 18.
Based on latest reports from the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), Stanford Medicine is anticipating ample supply to vaccinate 35,000+ members of the workforce in the next few months.
Our COVID-19 vaccine allocation plan strictly adheres to directives from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the California Department of Public Health regarding prioritization and equitable distribution. At this stage, we will only be vaccinating health care workers, with the initial focus on those who are providing care and service to patients in higher acuity settings consistent with CDPH and other guidance. No preference will be given for earlier vaccination of individuals not included in the plans for equitable distribution. With the high volume of vaccine doses we expect to receive in the coming weeks, we hope to quickly vaccinate our entire health care workforce by the end of January, at which point we will begin expanding vaccination to our broader community, followed by the general public in March or April.
At this stage, we will only be vaccinating health care workers, with the initial focus on those who are providing care and service to patients in higher acuity settings consistent with CDPH and other guidance. With the high volume of vaccine doses we expect to receive in the coming weeks, we hope to quickly vaccinate our entire health care workforce by the end of January, at which point we will begin expanding vaccination to our broader community, followed by the general public in March or April. We will notify non-patient facing staff when the vaccine will be available to them.
We are committed to providing urgent access to frontline healthcare workers and have mapped out a sequenced approach that is anticipated to start on December 18, 2020 at Stanford Health Care and December 17 at Stanford Health Care – ValleyCare.
After deliberate planning, we have put in place an implementation plan to vaccinate approximately 35,000 health care workers in approximately 2-3 months. We are pursuing this with utmost urgency in order to stabilize the health of our workforce and support their ability to care for our community. Vaccinations are anticipated to be available to the community in March or April 2021.
Those who choose to receive the vaccine should expect a total of two injections over a period of three to four weeks, depending on which vaccine they receive. Pfizer’s vaccine is 2 shots given 3 weeks apart; we anticipate getting a majority of our supply from Pfizer. Moderna’s vaccine is a series of 2 injections given 4 weeks apart. To achieve the COVID-19 vaccine’s full effectiveness, it is essential to obtain the full course of injections.
Vaccines are just one of several tools to help end the pandemic. The Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines are highly likely to prevent people from becoming ill due to COVID-19. However, additional research over the next several months is needed to show:
- Whether the COVID-19 vaccine, in addition to preventing illness, also prevents infection from the virus
- Whether the COVID-19 vaccine can prevent transmission of the virus by someone exposed after vaccination.
For this reason, it is essential for everyone, including those who have been vaccinated, to continue using all the tools available to help stop the spread of infection, including covering mouth and nose with a mask, washing hands often, staying at least 6 feet away from others, testing when indicated and following all guidance from State and County health officials.
The CDC has provided the following information about how mRNA vaccines work:
- mRNA vaccines are a new type of vaccine to protect against infectious diseases. To trigger an immune response, many vaccines put a weakened or inactivated germ into our bodies. Not mRNA vaccines. Instead, they teach our cells how to make a protein—or even just a piece of a protein—that triggers an immune response inside our bodies. That immune response, which produces antibodies, is what protects us from getting infected if the real virus enters our bodies.
- COVID-19 mRNA vaccines give instructions for our cells to make a harmless piece of what is called the “spike protein.” The spike protein is found on the surface of the virus that causes COVID-19.
- COVID-19 mRNA vaccines are given in the upper arm muscle. Once the instructions (mRNA) are inside the muscle cells, the cells use them to make the protein piece. After the protein piece is made, the cell breaks down the instructions and gets rid of them.
- Next, the cell displays the protein piece on its surface. Our immune systems recognize that the protein doesn’t belong there and begin building an immune response and making antibodies, like what happens in natural infection against COVID-19.
- At the end of the process, our bodies have learned how to protect against future infection. The benefit of mRNA vaccines, like all vaccines, is those vaccinated gain this protection without ever having to risk the serious consequences of getting sick with COVID-19.
The CDC has provided the following information on the safety of mRNA vaccines:
- mRNA vaccines are being held to the same rigorous safety and effectiveness standards as all other types of vaccines in the United States. The only COVID-19 vaccines the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will make available for use in the United States (by approval or emergency use authorization) are those that meet these standards.
- There are currently no licensed mRNA vaccines in the United States. However, researchers have been studying and working with them for decades. Interest has grown in these vaccines because they can be developed in a laboratory using readily available materials. This means the process can be standardized and scaled up, making vaccine development faster than traditional methods of making vaccines.
Pfizer has stated that approximately 42% of its 44,392 participants in its global COVID-19 vaccine clinical trials have a diverse background. Moderna has reported that it recruited more than 11,000 people from communities of color — 37% of its cohort — as well as 7,000 people over the age of 65 and older. The Moderna vaccine had 100% efficacy in those aged 65 and older, and 100% efficacy in communities of color.
Stanford Medicine is encouraged by the high level of racial and ethnic diversity represented in the Pfizer and Moderna clinical trials. These vaccines have demonstrated equivalent vaccine efficacy across all racial and ethnic backgrounds. This will continue to be tracked over the next two years.
As with any vaccine, people can react differently. It’s important to know that even rare, severe side-effects will be temporary and should not dissuade vaccine recipients from completing their course of injections.
Many people who receive vaccines will have mild or no side effects. These may include:
- Low-grade fever
- Chills
- Soreness at the injection site
- Headache
- Slight fatigue
In rare cases, people may experience more serious side effects, which are defined as side effects that prevent daily activities. These uncommon, temporary but severe side effects may include:
- Immediate allergic reaction
- High fever
- Muscle pain
- Joint pain
- Nausea
These vaccines contain no active or killed virus particles. There is no chance the vaccine will cause COVID-19.
Historically, the vast majority of complications in vaccines appear within 60 days of injection. In addition to the FDA, independent safety review scientific panels are working to confirm the safety of the COVID-19 vaccines. Because all COVID-19 vaccine research and clinical trials have been expedited over the last several months, there has not been an opportunity to gather extensive long-term research, including side effects. So far, most side effects have been mild and temporary.
The Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines are highly likely to prevent people from becoming ill due to COVID-19. However, additional research over the next several months is needed to show:
- Whether the COVID-19 vaccine, in addition to preventing illness, also prevents infection from the virus, and/or
- Whether the COVID-19 vaccine can prevent transmission of the virus by someone exposed after vaccination
For this reason, it is essential for everyone, including those who have been vaccinated, to continue using all the tools available to help stop the spread of infection, including covering mouth and nose with a mask, washing hands often, staying at least 6 feet away from others, testing when indicated, and following all guidance from State and County health officials.
Yes. Vaccines are just one of several tools to help end the pandemic. The Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines are highly likely to prevent people from becoming ill due to COVID-19. However, additional research over the next several months is needed to show:
- Whether the COVID-19 vaccine, in addition to preventing illness, also prevents infection from the virus
- Whether the COVID-19 vaccine can prevent transmission of the virus by someone exposed after vaccination.
For this reason, it is essential for everyone, including those who have been vaccinated, to continue using all the tools available to help stop the spread of infection, including covering mouth and nose with a mask, washing hands often, staying at least 6 feet away from others, testing when indicated, and following all guidance from State and County health officials.
Yes. Vaccines are just one of several tools to help end the pandemic. The Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines are highly likely to prevent people from becoming ill due to COVID-19. However, additional research over the next several months is needed to show:
- Whether the COVID-19 vaccine, in addition to preventing illness, also prevents infection from the virus.
- Whether the COVID-19 vaccine can prevent transmission of the virus by someone exposed after vaccination.
For this reason, it is essential for everyone, including those who have been vaccinated, to continue using all the tools available to help stop the spread of infection, including covering mouth and nose with a mask, washing hands often, staying at least 6 feet away from others, testing when indicated, and following all guidance from State and County health officials.
Yes. Vaccines are just one of several tools to help end the pandemic. The Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines are highly likely to prevent people from becoming ill due to COVID-19. However, additional research over the next several months is needed to show:
- Whether the COVID-19 vaccine, in addition to preventing illness, also prevents infection from the virus
- Whether the COVID-19 vaccine can prevent transmission of the virus by someone exposed after vaccination.
For this reason, it is essential for everyone, including those who have been vaccinated, to continue using all the tools available to help stop the spread of infection, including covering mouth and nose with a mask, washing hands often, staying at least 6 feet away from others, testing when indicated, and following all guidance from State and County health officials.
It is essential for everyone, including those who have been vaccinated, to continue using all the tools available to help stop the spread of infection, including covering mouth and nose with a mask, washing hands often, staying at least 6 feet away from others, and following all guidance from State and County health officials.
Because of reports of anaphylactic reactions in persons who received the COVID-19 vaccine outside of clinical trials, the CDC has proposed the following guidance:
- Persons who have had a severe allergic reaction to any vaccine or injectable therapy (intramuscular, intravenous, or subcutaneous) should not receive the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine at this time.
- Vaccine providers should observe patients after vaccination to monitor for the occurrence of immediate adverse reactions:
- Persons with a history of anaphylaxis: 30 minutes
- All other persons: 15 minutes
This recommendation does not apply to persons with other severe allergic reactions (for example: food allergies).
The CDC has provided the following guidance:
- Persons with HIV infection, other immunocompromising conditions, or who take immunosuppressive medications or therapies might be at increased risk for severe COVID-19
- Data is not currently available to establish safety and efficacy of vaccine in these groups, but they may still receive COVID-19 vaccine unless otherwise contraindicated
Stanford Medicine recommends that persons with immunocompromising conditions discuss COVID-19 vaccination with their primary care physician.
The CDC has provided the following guidance for pregnant women:
- There are no data on the safety of COVID-19 vaccines in pregnant women.
- If a woman is part of a group (e.g., healthcare personnel) who is recommended to receive a COVID-19 vaccine and is pregnant, she may choose to be vaccinated. A discussion with her healthcare provider can help her make an informed decision.
- Considerations for vaccination:
- Level of COVID-19 community transmission (risk of acquisition)
- Her personal risk of contracting COVID-19 (by occupation or other activities)
- The risks of COVID-19 to her and potential risks to the fetus
- The efficacy of the vaccine
- The known side effects of the vaccine
- The lack of data about the vaccine during pregnancy
- Pregnant women who experience fever following vaccination should be counseled to take acetaminophen as fever has been associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes.
- Routine testing for pregnancy prior to receipt of a COVID-19 vaccine is not recommended.
No. The COVID-19 vaccine is not required, but strongly encouraged for all Stanford Medicine health care workers.
David Entwistle, President and CEO, Stanford Health Care
“The arrival of these cold-storage boxes to Stanford Medicine is a milestone in a historic journey. It’s taken a superhuman effort and unprecedented cooperation among so many groups and individuals to make this vaccine a reality. We are deeply grateful to all those whose contributions have led us to this moment. Words can’t express how proud we’re feeling to be able to offer the COVID-19 vaccine to our front-line health care workers, who, throughout the crisis, have worked tirelessly to serve our community.”
Lloyd Minor, MD, Dean, Stanford School of Medicine
“It’s an emotional moment for our community, especially for our front-line health care workers, who have worked so hard and sacrificed so much during the crisis to be here for others. Providing these workers with priority access to the vaccine is critically important so that they can stay healthy and maintain essential care services. At the same time, we can’t lose sight of our current situation. While vaccines give us all hope, we are still in a dark chapter of the COVID-19 pandemic. We must all keep doing our part, including wearing masks and socially distancing, to slow the spread. That is the best way to keep ourselves safe and to support those working on the front lines.”
Paul King, President and CEO, Stanford Children’s Health and Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford
“It’s been 276 days since the Bay Area first received shelter-in-place orders. The fact that we’re preparing to administer an FDA-authorized COVID-19 vaccine to our front-line health care workers—less than a year later—is nothing short of remarkable. It is a monumental achievement and gives hope that the days for this pandemic are numbered. While we still have a long way to go and must continue following public health measures to keep each other safe, we can take some comfort in knowing that a better future is on the horizon.”
*Note the 276 days is as of Thursday, December 17, 2020.
Megan Mahoney, MD, chief of staff, Stanford Health Care, and clinical professor of medicine.
“I weighed the potential risk of the vaccine against the risk of getting COVID. My risks for COVID come from working in a healthcare setting and also living in a neighborhood that is experiencing a very high rate of new cases. After weighing the pros and cons, I decided to step up to be part of the collective to be vaccinated, to be a role model, and to be part of the solution, so that in the foreseeable future we can celebrate overcoming this virus together.
This last year, as I think about it, it's just been a brilliant response to COVID here at Stanford Medicine. The pandemic has really shown our collective fortitude and strength. I know we’re still in the dark days and we must remain vigilant to stay safe and care for our patients. But the most stirring moment of this momentous year is happening this week! The vaccines are coming, delivering hope when we need it the most.”
Yvonne Maldonado, MD, Epidemiologist and infectious disease specialist at Stanford Medicine
“I am extremely hopeful that the tremendous progress that we have seen with safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines will help us control the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021 and beyond.”
Lisa Schilling RN, MPH, CPHQ
Vice President, Quality, Safety and Clinical Effectiveness
Stanford Health Care
“I have always said, when the book is written about the experience of this pandemic what will we have said we did? I am proud of Stanford because we have focused on the true north of protecting our workforce and patients. When it comes to protecting people and ending the pandemic, vaccinating the workforce and community is the path forward.”
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