ST. LOUIS — Years from now when St. Louisans talk about COVID-19, Dr. Aamina Akhtar will likely be a part of the conversation.
On Monday, the infectious disease specialist was the first person in the region, and one of the first in the state, to receive the vaccine.
"It was like the combination of the birth of a baby, a marriage, a baseball game and a baby," Dr. Akhtar said. "It was everything all put together."
Dr. Akhtar, who is also the chief medical officer at Mercy Hospital South, received her shot while her coworkers watched and cheered through a glass window outside of the room.
"I am the first person, but really it's about all the health care workers and coworkers across the country," Dr. Akhtar said.
Dr. Akhtar described the past few months as mentally and physically exhausting for health care workers, as they had to work extra hours and, in the past few months, ramp up efforts to combat a recent surge in cases.
"The hardest part was there was no end in sight," Dr. Akhtar said. "The vaccine... it's that light at the end of the tunnel."
While excited and hopeful, she admitted it will take months for it to truly penetrate the greater community and said area hospitals are still at dangerously high capacities and the virus is still a crisis for the region.
She and other local and state health officials said people still need to practice social distancing, good hygiene and wear face coverings. She also said it's important for people to take the vaccine once it's available to the people for it to be effective.
"I urge people to get their questions answered," Dr. Akhtar said. "Get good information to make good decisions about yourself and your loved ones... The risks associated with vaccines, they are minimal. They are scarce. The opportunities for benefit are outstanding."
She said the medical community knows the vaccine is effective and will be a key tool to ending the pandemic. For now, she said this is a win for the health care workers who have been on the frontline since the spring, without ever having this level of protection.
"Our coworkers are amazing," Dr. Akhtar said. "Even though they've been through all these extraordinary times, they're still wanting to be here for their patients. I think the other important part about this vaccine is that it tells them they're in the first steps of being protected too, so less chance of them being ill and more chance of them being here for their patients."