New Ulm Receives Covid Vaccine

The COVID-19 pandemic has lasted almost a year, and recently, New Ulm’s cases have only spiked. We have had almost 2,000 cases along with over 25 Covid-related deaths here, and finally, the city’s medical center has received its first shipment of 200 doses of the vaccine to administer. Pfizer, an American pharmaceutical company, manufactured the vaccine in a record amount of time, as most vaccines can take years to be produced and received by the public. The vaccination is approved by the Food and Drug Administration and is recommended by the Center for Disease Control as a safe option for dealing with the pandemic.

Though we now have the capabilities to better treat the virus, that does not mean that people should stop wearing their face masks, social distancing, and staying home as much as possible. All of these factor into a reduction in the spread of COVID and remain extremely important.

Starting on Tuesday the 22nd, front-line health care workers will be the initial individuals to be given the vaccine. The medical center will continue to receive new vaccine shipments weekly, but they are unsure of how many doses they will receive. After medical workers and those most at risk are given the new vaccination, it will be open to the rest of the general public.

The vaccine itself needs to be stored at extremely low temperatures to make it viable. Luckily, the medical center can store it within its sub-zero freezer. Not all facilities are equipped for this, though. New Ulm’s medical center is currently acting as a hub for the vaccine, and other facilities in the region will receive immunizations from there. One thing to keep in mind about the vaccine is that it requires two inoculations to be effective, each given about three weeks apart.

There is still more information to come regarding the vaccine. It will be interesting to see the effect of individuals being given the inoculation and the number of new cases New Ulm will have in the future.