First Moderna Vaccines Administered at LCHC

LYNN — The shot took less than five seconds to administer, but it will save Anna Perez from months of stress and worry. Perez, a dentist at the Lynn Community Health Center, was the first person in Lynn to receive the new Moderna vaccine, which has been shown to be 94 percent effective at preventing COVID-19. “You know, I didn’t feel a thing,” she said. “But my arm feels very good, and I feel comfortable. I didn’t know I was going to be the first person. I have no words to say how much I appreciate the opportunity.” The two-dose Moderna vaccine was authorized for use by the United States last Friday, after it was shown to be effective at preventing the virus in a study of 30,000 volunteers aged 18 and older. It also strongly protected older adults, who are most vulnerable. It differs from the Pfizer vaccine which was also recently released in that it doesn’t need to be stored at ultra-frozen temperatures. “We just decided that Pfizer was too complicated,” said Kiame Mahaniah, the LCHC Chief Executive Officer. “The Moderna vaccine was more user-friendly.” LCHC received its first round of vaccines Tuesday. Geoff Pechinsky, the Chief Medical Officer at LCHC, was hopeful that the vaccine could help them continue to assist the local hospitals in dealing with the virus. “I’m optimistic,” said Pechinsky. “We’ve all been very tired and worried the last nine months. “ ...