Plessen Urgent Care Chosen as One of Three COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution Sites
ST CROIX, USVI, December 15, 2020 – Plessen Urgent Care located in Sunny Isles has been chosen as one of only three distribution sites on St. Croix for the COVID-19 Vaccine.
In the first wave of national vaccine distribution, there are 636 participating distribution sites across the US and its territories. Vaccines in the US Virgin Islands will be provided to recipient groups as directed by the USVI Department of Health.
While the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine has not been approved by The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), The FDA has issued an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) to permit its emergency use for active immunization to prevent COVID-19 in individuals 16 years of age and older. The safety of The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine was evaluated in two clinical studies with a total of 44,000 participants conducted in the United States, Europe, Turkey, South Africa, and South America.
The Plessen medical staff has been training and developing protocols to be ready to administer the vaccine upon arrival to an anticipated 100 patients per day. “This is one of the main purposes of an Urgent Care. We have a seasoned and experienced staff at Plessen Urgent Care and we stand ready to administer the vaccine while maintaining important safety standards,” affirmed Rodger Melton, Clinical Manager and Family Nurse Practitioner.
In advance of participating with Operation Warp Speed, Plessen Healthcare, LLC invested in a specialized ultra-low temperature (ULT) freezer and flew in a skilled engineer to facilitate installation. Upgrades to the electrical backup system at the facility were also made. Plessen Urgent Care is one of only a few locations in the Territory that has a ULT freezer which makes the medical group a vital contributor to the success of the operation.
Operation Warp Speed is an effort led by several U.S. government agencies and public partnerships to move the development, manufacturing, and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostic through the United States and its Territories. Local partners on St. Croix involved in the mission include FEMA, The Virgin Islands National Guard (VING), VITEMA, The USVI Department of Health, Plessen Healthcare, LLC, Frederiksted Health Care, Inc., and Community Health Services at the Charles Harwood Complex.
“We are honored and excited to be a part of Operation Warp Speed which began distributing the vaccine nationwide within hours of its emergency use approval. I think this will be a big step forward in order for us to get to the other side of this pandemic and a healthier 2021. We need to take this important action to make sure all of us are safe” shared Dr. Jan B Tawakol, CEO of Plessen Healthcare, LLC. “At this time and place in our history, Plessen Healthcare is proud to be a part of the endeavor to bring positive change to our community.”
Upon receipt of the vaccine at Plessen Urgent Care Wednesday, December 16, 2020, Dr. Tawakol will be the first medical professional to receive a dose of the vaccine. He plans to chronicle his experience via a daily video diary posted to the plessenhealthcare.com website and via social media.
About Plessen Healthcare, LLC
Plessen Healthcare, LLC. was founded on St Croix, US Virgin Islands in 2014 by Dr. Jan Tawakol and Dr. Tasnim Khan, on the fundamental belief that world class health care should be accessible to everyone. The Plessen Orange Gove medical campus includes a full-service, multi-specialty medical clinic and the only CMS accredited surgical center in the USVI. As of September 2020, the Urgent Care Center located at Sunny Isles serves patients ages two and up, seven days per week. Plessen is committed to affordable, accountable, and efficient healthcare and is centrally located within the Caribbean for easy travel from down island, the British Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, the Bahamas, Bermuda, and the U.S. mainland.