KALISPELL — Kalispell Regional Healthcare (KRH) began the distribution of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine to healthcare workers on Thursday morning.
The vaccinations started at 6 a.m. at six different immunization stations at the hospital and will continue until 8 p.m. on Thursday.
Healthcare workers receiving the vaccine were observed for 15 minutes after immunization.
KRH received 975 doses of the Pfizer vaccine on Tuesday with the distribution of the vaccine scheduled for Thursday and Friday.
Kalispell Regional Healthcare Nurse Practitioner Chelsea Dunshee said she was excited to be one of the first health care workers at KRH to receive the vaccine.
"I signed up to be one of the first ones to get the vaccine because I was excited and proud to be able to be one of the first in line,” Dunshee said.
“I just really felt compelled to try to be one of the first ones to do this because I’m so looking forward to being able to say this is an unprecedented time and I did what I could to protect myself and others to the best of my abilities," Dunshee added.
KRH was selected as one of Montana’s first hospitals to receive the COVID-19 vaccine due to its cold storage unit which has the capacity of holding more than 26,000 doses.