December 24, 2020: Update on COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution

Dear Colleagues, 

What an amazing 18 hours we have experienced, as NewYork-Presbyterian has done over 5000 vaccinations in that short period of time. The Pfizer mRNA vaccine had been used exclusively on the Columbia/NYP campus until last night, when the Moderna vaccine began to be used. The next wave of vaccinations includes a broader group of patient-facing teams. As of last night, December 23, nearly 11,000 NewYork-Presbyterian, Weill Cornell, and Columbia staff have been vaccinated across the enterprise. For the coming days, the Moderna vaccine will be used exclusively and these numbers will grow substantially.  

We are part of a truly herculean vaccine distribution effort taking place across the country and New York State. According to the CDC, over one million doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered as of Dec 23, 2020, including 89,000 in New York State. 

We encourage everyone who has received the vaccine to sign up for v-safe, a smartphone-based tool that uses text messaging and web surveys to provide personalized health check-ins after COVID-19 vaccination. This also contributes to the accumulating safety database about these vaccines.  

The CUIMC Vaccine Committee continues to contribute to the updates of FAQ materials to reflect newest evidence and experience with vaccines. 

Please visit our COVID-19 Vaccine Information page for up to date information on the vaccination effort at CUIMC. 

Enjoy the long weekend, and we will reconnect on Monday!

Magda Sobieszczyk, MD
Chief of Infectious Diseases and Co-chair of the CUIMC COVID-19 Vaccine Committee

Melissa Stockwell, MD MPH
Chief of the Division of Child and Adolescent Health and Co-chair of the CUIMC COVID-19 Vaccine Committee