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Moishe House Philly, is eligible
to receive the vaccine because
she works at the newly devel-
oped citywide clinics providing
vaccinations to health care
workers who are unaffiliated
with hospital systems.

Dr. Steven Sivak, president of
Einstein Physicians Philadelphia
at Einstein Healthcare Network,
leads the network’s COVID-19
task force and is responsible for
its vaccine rollout. In the face
of limited doses, that means
deciding who will get access first.

“We decided a couple of
months ago that we were going
to try to develop the most
ethical approach possible. And
what we did was we took into
account professional risk and
personal risk,” said Sivak, who
is Jewish.

Professional risk is based on
a recipient’s job. Workers in the
emergency room, the intensive
care unit or the anesthesiology
department have the highest
professional risk because they
treat patients in an environment
where respiratory droplets and
aerosols can spread the virus.

Personal risk is based on age
and health. If a staff member is
over 65 or has an underlying
condition, such as diabetes
or heart disease, they are
also considered high risk and
eligible to get the vaccine early.

Dr. Richard Fine, who is also
Jewish, faces both professional
risk as network chair of the
department of anesthesiology
at Einstein and personal risk
as a survivor of leukemia and
melanoma. On the morning of
Dec. 16, he got the shot.

“I truly feel privileged to have
received it early on,” he said.

Albert Gutmaker, a senior
respiratory therapist who has
worked at Einstein for more
than 47 years, faces personal
and professional risk as a front-
line worker over 65. He also
was vaccinated on Dec. 16.

He said it added new
meaning to his Chanukah
celebrations this year.

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Dr. Steven Sivak, right, speaks with Dr. Eric Sachinwalla at Einstein Medical Center Philadelphia.

Photo by Wesley HIlton
We decided a couple of months ago that we were going to try to
develop the most ethical approach possible. And what we did was we
took into account professional risk and personal risk.”
DR. STEVEN SIVAK
“One day of an injection will
lead to many years of life. We
can call the Chanukah festival
a Festival of Life,” he said.

Sivak said administering
Pfizer’s vaccine is a complex
process. Unlike a typical flu shot,
the COVID-19 vaccine must be
chilled at -94 degrees Fahrenheit
and thawed before it is recon-
stituted. Once thawed, health
care workers have six hours to
administer the vaccine before it
goes bad at room temperature.

At Einstein, recipients
have to sit for a few minutes
after getting the shot so they
can be monitored for allergic
reactions. They leave the vacci-
nation site with instructions
for how to monitor and report
side effects.

Fine said staff were notified
of the possibility of a low-grade
fever, fatigue, aches and chills.

If those symptoms did not
resolve within the first two
days, they would be evaluated
in the emergency room.

“We’ve worked hard to
differentiate the symptoms of
a significant COVID exposure
versus a side effect of the vaccine
itself. And that’s hugely important
because we certainly want to
optimize our health care force to
return to work,” Fine said.

All staff members who are
vaccinated must have their
vaccine information entered in
an electronic medical record
and receive a second dose 21
days later.

Despite these complicated
steps, Sivak said the first vaccine
session on Dec. 16 went so
smoothly the task force decided
to add a fifth vaccinator and
reduce appointment times from
every 15 minutes to every 12
minutes. They will also start
vaccinating people six days a
week rather than every other day.

Sivak said Einstein hopes
to administer the rest of its
first doses by Dec. 30, and will
receive 1,950 more vaccines to
provide second doses. This will
be enough to vaccinate almost
half of Einstein’s workforce.

Although Fine feels fortu-
nate to be an early recipient of
JEWISH EXPONENT
months. His staff face partic-
ularly high risk because they
are responsible for intubating
COVID patients.

“I have a member of my
staff that intubated someone to
put them on a ventilator that
was unfortunately an Einstein
employee. The last thing he
said to my colleague was, ‘I
hope you’re not the last human
being that I ever see,’” he said.

Gutmaker, who has lost
several friends to coronavirus,
said it was important for people
to remember that other safety
measures have to be taken in
addition to the vaccine to stop
the spread. Scientists do not yet
know whether the vaccine can
prevent people from passing
the virus on to others, even
while the recipients avoid the
worst of its effects, so masks
and social distancing must
continue until more people
have immunity.

“The Army, the Navy, the
Air Force, Marines, they all
work together in a war to win.

Well, you have Pfizer, Moderna,
two other vaccine developers.

You’ve got masks. You’ve got
disinfecting agents and all that.

They’re all the military forces we
have available to beat this thing.

And we can do it, but it’s a matter
of cooperation, coordination
and caring, more than anything
else, caring about other people
and yourself,” he said. l
the vaccine, he acknowledged
that he felt a bit apprehensive.

“On a personal note, I’m
certainly not cavalier about my
own health care. And I took the
time to email my own oncol-
ogist and say, ‘What do you
think about this, based upon
my medical history?’” he said.

“And in capitals, he said, ‘Get
the vaccine. The risk of COVID
far outweighs the issues with
regard to your medical history.’”
Gutmaker felt
some soreness at his injection site,
but it only lasted for a couple
of hours. Leeman experi-
enced some achiness that also
passed quickly. Fine feels as
though he has gotten any other
vaccine. He is, however, antic-
ipating more side effects once
he receives his second dose on
Jan. 5 based on the studies he
has seen.

He looks forward to the
relief that day will bring, and
the relief more doses will bring
to his colleagues, who have
been fighting on the front lines spanzer@jewishexponent.com;
of the pandemic for nine long 215-832-0729
DECEMBER 24, 2020
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