On December 11, 2020, the FDA issued an emergency use authorization (EUA) for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine. Mere hours later, five employees from the UK Chandler Emergency Department received the first vaccine doses on campus. Among UK's First Five was Dr. Charles Eckerline, Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine and the first physician to be administered the vaccine.
In the weeks since those initial doses were given, UK HealthCare has worked to ensure employees in high risk, high contact areas such as the Emergency Department and ICUs have the option to receive the vaccine as part of Phase 1 of the National Academy of Medicine's Phased Approach for COVID Vaccination.
Read more about UK HealthCare's COVID-19 vaccine rollout here: https://uknow.uky.edu/uk-healthcare/uk-healthcare-begins-covid-19-vaccine-rollout