SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — A respiratory therapist was the first in Puerto Rico to get the coronavirus vaccine on Tuesday following the delivery of the Pfizer-BioNTech supplies to the island.
Yahaira Alicea, who works at the Ashford Presbyterian Community Hospital in San Juan, was part of the medical team that treated the island's first two known coronavirus patients, and was chosen as the first vaccine recipient on the island for that reason. The patients, an elderly husband and wife from Italy, were on a cruise ship on vacation. The wife eventually succumbed to COVID-19 complications following hospitalization.
As the hospital's epidemiologist, Hilda Alemán, prepared the Pfizer dose, Alicea spoke of the fear that came with treating the first COVID-19 patients, and of the emotional and physical exhaustion that health care workers have faced during the pandemic. She said she was "proud to be the first Puerto Rican" vaccinated, and hoped it would encourage others to follow.
"Don't be afraid," she said. "You have nothing to lose with getting vaccinated."
Those present clapped after Alicea received the injection. Four other hospital workers were vaccinated at the livestreamed public event, including Alemán. A senior obstetrician-gynecologist with the most experience among all doctors at the medical center was also vaccinated.
Health care workers, starting with those who work in hospitals, will be the first to receive the vaccine on the island, along with essential workers and those who live in assisted living facilities and other shared confined spaces. In the following phases of vaccine distribution, which could overlap with the first, the health department hopes to make the vaccine widely available in pharmacies, doctors' offices, and vaccination centers. It will begin the inoculation of the general population with patients who have chronic conditions.
The Puerto Rico Department of Health has emphasized that the vaccine will be free for everyone. On Tuesday, the National Guard began delivering containers filled with vaccines to over 60 hospitals in Puerto Rico. The milestone in Puerto Rico's fight against the pandemic falls on the nine-month mark of the island's first lockdown in March. Cases, hospitalizations and deaths are increasing in the U.S. territory of 3.2 million people.
On Monday, Puerto Rico received around 16,000 doses, although initially the U.S. territory was expected to receive over 32,000 vaccines in the first shipment, according to The New York Times. The National Guard had to adjust its distribution plan.
Many Puerto Ricans across public forums and social media have expressed concern about the local and federal governments' capacity to distribute the vaccine. They have cited public officials' past record with emergency management, which includes undelivered water bottles meant for Hurricane Maria relief and emergency supplies that were not distributed following destructive earthquakes in January.
There are also worries about keeping the vaccines, which need to be maintained in ultracold conditions, properly stored. The island's fragile power grid frequently experiences blackouts. Local newspapers El Vocero and El nuevo Día reported on Tuesday evening that of the 65 hospitals meant to receive the doses, not all had received the delivery because they lacked the proper equipment store them.
Puerto Rico Gov. Wanda Vázquez received criticism after the Ashford Hospital delayed its vaccination to Tuesday. The medical center said in a written statement that the rescheduling had been due to instructions from the Governor's Press Office. Some critics speculated that the request had come from the office to prepare for a photo opportunity. Others blasted the government for what they perceived to be a needless delay in vaccinations.
The Governor's Press Office issued a press release, saying the administration of the first vaccines was slated for Tuesday by local government planning and as stipulated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
"From the beginning, it was told to the people that this is a process of order," Vázquez said in the written statement.
On Tuesday afternoon, Vázquez visited San Juan's Centro Médico, the main public hospital in Puerto Rico, to witness vaccinations, speak with staff, and address reporters.
Lilliam Rodríguez, the principal official of vaccination coalition VOCES, urged residents of the island to trust the public officials involved with the distribution process.
"That the National Guard is involved in the issue of logistics and the distribution of vaccines gives me a lot of peace of mind," she said, "because I have been working directly with the National Guard for many months."
Adjutant Gen. José Reyes of the National Guard and other officials have indicated that there are special freezers and power generators to store the vaccines at the required temperatures. Reyes told El Vocero on Tuesday that the Puerto Rican Department of Health was working with the hospitals that were unable to receive the COVID-19 vaccines on Tuesday to make sure they could eventually acquire them.
Rodríguez also vouched for Dr. Iris Cardona, deputy secretary in the Puerto Rican Department of Health, citing her "commitment to Puerto Ricans" and her many years working with vaccination programs.
Rodríguez told the Miami Herald that all providers involved with the distribution process had submitted documentation and were registered.
"The infrastructure is ready," she said. "What is missing is for the vaccine to arrive."
