12 | JANUARY 14 • 2021

a.m. and finished around 4
p.m. More than 130 people
were administered the first
dose that day.
Most long-term care facil-
ities will be receiving the
Moderna vaccine due to the
specific refrigeration and
temperature needs the Pfizer
vaccine calls for.
The residents were mon-
itored for 15 minutes after
receiving the vaccine, and
wellness checks were done the
morning after for every resi-
dent. The follow-up clinic for
Coville and Prentiss 1 takes
place Feb. 1.
JSL scheduled its next clin-
ic for the first doses for Jan.
12-15, covering five buildings
in that time span.
Nancy Heinrich, CEO of
JSL, also received the first
dose of the vaccine on Jan. 4
and said a couple residents
and staff have had minor side
effects, but they all seem to be
doing well.
“We’re just thrilled, and we
view this as a beginning of
a new chapter and the end
of the 2020 chapter, and we
couldn’t be happier for our
residents and the community
at large as this continues to
roll out,” she said. “Every jour-
ney starts with the first step,
and we’re just happy to be on
this journey.”

BEAUMONT LOGISTICS
Dr. Jeffrey Fischgrund,
chairman of the Department
of Orthopedics at Beaumont
Hospital in Royal Oak and
chief of Clinical Services for
Beaumont Health, led clinical
operations for Beaumont’s
COVID response and was
heavily involved with a large
team leading the vaccination
efforts to roll it out in a short

time.
The Beaumont vaccinations
started on Dec. 15; Fischgrund
received the Pfizer vaccine
on Dec. 22. Like Henry Ford,
the highest priority healthcare
workers were identified, from
everyone in the emergency
department and COVID
floors to the people who draw
blood and clean the rooms.
“They’re all vital to keep
the hospital running, so that
made up 11,000 people across
our eight-hospital system,”
Fischgrund said.
When describing the logis-
tics of the facilities receiving
the vaccine, Fischgrund made
clear that the vaccine is owned
by the federal government,
and that their shipment is
totally dependent on what

their need is and what the
state can give to them.
“The federal government
gives it to the state, the state
gives it to us, and then we
have to act as stewards of the
vaccine,” Fischgrund said.
Beaumont has eight sites
and a central administrative
building, and each site gets
the same distribution from
the state. As a health system,
though, Beaumont chose to
consolidate for safety and
efficacy, with all doses going
to the administrative building,
where the vaccine clinic with
pharmacists and nurses is set
up.
“It’s just been nonstop day-
by-day issues we’ve had to
face since March that we’ve
never seen before,” Fischgrund

said, reflecting on the past
year before the rollout. “This
is the first positive COVID
news we’ve had in almost nine
months, and it’s just such a
relief to see the faces of the
people getting the vaccine.
There’s such joy and happiness
that we can start turning the
corner.”
According to Fischgrund,
Beaumont Health has vac-
cinated more than 13,500
healthcare professionals as
of Jan. 4 and will soon have
capacity to vaccinate more
than 3,000 people a day.

RESEARCHER’S PRIDE
Kate Zenlea, managing direc-
tor of HFHS’ Global Health
Initiative and the hospital’s
Phase III vaccine trial for
Moderna and Johnson &
Johnson, said the authorization
of the Moderna vaccine they
worked so hard on garners a
sigh of relief and positive reflec-
tion.
“Throughout the whole trial,
the theme has resonated with
all of us just how historic this
time is, and years from now
we’re all going to look back
and remember the impact we
had on curbing the pandemic,
”
Zenlea said. “Everyone was just
very grateful and very excited
to see all their hard work, their
grit, their sacrifices and long
hours come to fruition.
”
With her first-hand knowl-
edge on the difference between
the authorized Moderna and
Pfizer vaccines, Zenlea says the
two vaccines use very similar
technologies.
“There’s really very little dif-
ference between the vaccines,
”
Zenlea said. “The only true
difference is the temperature at
which each vaccine needs to be
stored. The Pfizer vaccine does
need to be kept colder than the
Moderna, but that doesn’t real-
ly impact the receiver all that
much.
”
The next step in the process,

“THIS IS THE FIRST POSITIVE COVID
NEWS WE’VE HAD IN ALMOST

NINE MONTHS.”

— BEAUMONT’S DR. JEFFREY FISCHGRUND

COURTESY OF DR. JEFFREY FISCHGRUND

Dr. Jeffrey Fischgrund gives a thumbs-up after receiving the vaccine.

IN
THE
JEWS D
ON THE COVER

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