Healthcare workers from Broward Health Coral Springs receive Covid-19 vaccine

Coral Springs, Florida – Frontline staff members of Broward Health Coral Springs were the latest healthcare workers this week to get the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine.

On Wednesday, Terri Dutts, RN, the hospital’s nurse manager of the Covid-19 unit, was the first to receive the vaccine.

“This is an amazing opportunity and means so much to those on the frontline. I can’t wait for all of my fellow healthcare workers to also get vaccinated,” Dutts said in a news release.

She said afterward that the Moderna vaccine was more comfortable to receive than the flu vaccine.

“While we continue to take care of those in our community who have Covid-19, we’ll be safe and can now go home to our families at night knowing that we have an extra layer of protection,” Dutts said.

Nirit Swerdloff, M.D., an emergency room physician at Broward Health Coral Springs, was second in line.

“This feels tremendous,” she said in the news release. “On behalf of everyone who takes care of patients in this hospital, I want to say that it’s so great to have an extra layer of protection and a real start to fight this virus.”

This week, hospital staffs across the nation began getting inoculated as part of the first phase of Moderna and Pfizer Covid-19 vaccinations.

Vaccinations will soon be coming to more people.

Gov. Ron DeSantis signed an executive order on Wednesday that the next phase will include the state’s more than 4 million residents over 65 years old. Those vaccinations could begin as early as Monday.

At Broward Health Coral Springs, Employee Health Practitioner Aisha Haughton, APRN, administered the first doses.

“As an employee health nurse, it felt amazing to begin vaccinating our staff against the virus,” she said in the news release. “They pour their hearts and souls into their jobs, and it’s really important that they’re protected so today feels just great.”

The hospital’s Chief Medical Officer Kutty Chandran, M.D., said vaccinations will make a big difference in containing the pandemic.

“It’s a very exciting day for us because this vaccine means that we are turning the corner in our fight against Covid,” Dr. Chandran said.