According to information provided by St. Luke’s, due to advanced planning and scheduled vaccine rollouts across all campuses, St. Luke’s University Health Network was successfully the first hospital in the region to vaccinate all front-line workers who chose to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.

St. Luke’s is now offering the vaccine to all employees and private health care practitioners in the region.

To date, approximately 7,000 employees have been vaccinated.

“All of St. Luke’s employees are essential to the smooth running of St. Luke’s hospitals and network,” said Jeffrey Jahre, MD, senior vice president of Medical and Academic Affairs and section chief emeritus of Infectious Diseases.

“From our physicians and nurses to those who keep the hospitals clean, prepare our food and deliver our needed supplies we cannot function without them.

“We will now offer the vaccine to all St. Luke’s employees.”

Following CDC Guidelines, the second round of vaccines will be for essential workers such as teachers, police and firefighters, while the third round of vaccines is for adults with high-risk medical conditions and those age 65 and over.

Vaccines are an important tool in the prevention and spread of diseases like COVID-19.

While the vaccine is not mandatory, St. Luke’s medical leadership recommends the vaccine as an effective way to protect against COVID-19.

It is not a cure, however, and everyone must remain vigilant and continue infection prevention practices such as masking and social distancing.

For more information about COVID-19 and the COVID vaccination, visit slhn.org/covid-19 or follow them on social media.