Antelope Valley Medical Center Amongst the First to Receive COVID-19 Vaccine

AVMC started administering the COVID-19 vaccine to frontline workers today.

Lancaster, CA, December 16, 2020 – Antelope Valley Medical Center (AVMC) received the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to prevent Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). AVMC frontline workers were the first to receive the vaccine in the early morning hours on Wednesday December 16, 2020.

The vaccine will be administered as a 2-dose series, 3 weeks apart. Staff working in areas with direct patient contact and/or high-risk exposure will be given priority to receive the vaccine, including environmental services which includes custodial staff. The hospital will coordinate with the various departments in order to avoid large groups and to maintain social distancing.

Pramod Kadambi, M.D., the hospital’s Chief of Staff was the first to receive the vaccine. “Our primary goal is to protect our staff, and making the COVID vaccine accessible was essential. Having our medical leadership pave the way to demonstrate the safety and importance of the vaccine was significant.”, said Edward Mirzabegian, CEO of Antelope Valley Medical Center. “We were happy and hopeful to see a large turnout of medical staff throughout the day.”

Antelope Valley Medical Center received a limited quantity of the vaccine and will be administering to hospital staff first. Additional information will follow when more vaccine becomes available.

About Antelope Valley Medical Center

Antelope Valley Medical Center, the only full-service, acute-care hospital in the Antelope Valley, has been delivering exceptional care to the community for 65 years. It offers the region’s only trauma center, pediatric unit, NICU, inpatient mental health care, labor and delivery, Accredited Chest Pain Center/STEMI Receiving Center, Advanced Primary Stroke Center and Comprehensive Community Cancer Center. More information is available at www.AVMC.org or by calling 661- 949-5000. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram @antelopevalleyhospital

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