A look at what goes into prepping the COVID vaccine for your shot – WCAX

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RUTLAND, Vt. (WCAX) – You’ve probably seen video of people receiving the COVID vaccine. But we haven’t seen what goes on behind the scenes until now. Our Olivia Lyons takes you inside a pharmacy as they prepare the vaccine.

I was in Rutland Regional Medical Center’s Pharmacy Tuesday morning as they prepared the vaccine for people getting their shots. The timeline for preparation is very precise and there is no room for errors.

Once a batch of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine is delivered to Rutland Regional Medical Center, it enters the deep freezer, set to negative-80 Celsius.

Most of the process used to prepare the vaccine is standard IV practices. But there is a strict timeline from when the vaccine comes out of the deep low and goes into the refrigerator. The vaccine can survive for five days in the refrigerator.

“Once we bring it to room temperature, we have two hours to prepare the vaccine for use. Otherwise, it is no longer usable. Which that is the really tightest part of the window because once it is prepared at the appropriate concentration, it’s good for six hours,” said Rick Kowalczyk, an application analyst pharmacist.

To prepare the vaccine, two pharmacy employees enter the cleanroom to wash and dress. From there, they enter the negative pressure room where they mix the vaccine.

Each bottle of the vaccine holds six doses.

When mixing the concentration, if even a few drops fall out, that can result in the loss of an entire dose.

“It was really nerve-wracking, the first vial I made. My hands were just kind of shaking, please don’t mess this up. But after that, I’ve made hundreds of vaccines by now and so at this time, I just feel really comfortable with the process,” said Annemarie Monger, the lead sterile compounding technician.

Monger was excited with the first delivery of the vaccine and even more excited to mix the shot she received.

“It had my name on it. It was like yes, I prepared this, it’s mine,” she said.

Tuesday morning, Monger and Kowalcyk prepared a small batch but they have done as many as 150 doses at once.

“That’s a significant operation,” Kowalczyk said. “What you saw there was just doing two vials, 12 doses. In a single go, we’ve done more than ten times that amount before. That can take over an hour.”

Moving forward as more people become eligible for the vaccine, RRMC is working on plans to hold clinics and identify those who are next in line.

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