Grace Garvey, 92, was the first resident on the Lutheran campus to receive the COVID-19 vaccine Monday administered by a pharmacist from CVS. Beside her is Stacey Conyer, who helped monitor residents. Submitted photo

Shortly after receiving her COVID-19 vaccine Monday morning, Grace Garvey shouted, “History has been made!”

The proclamation from the 92-year-old resident of the Lutheran skilled nursing facility in Jamestown was met with cheers as the first doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines were administered by CVS Pharmacy.

Tom Holt, Lutheran president and chief executive officer, said just about all residents were set to get the first of two shots that make up the vaccine along with a third of the staff. In about three weeks, pharmacists will return to give second doses along with administering the first to the remaining two-thirds of the staff.

By the end of the first clinic Monday, 86 residents and 75 employees received a shot.

Holt expressed optimism that could come with a vaccination for a virus that has closed schools, shuttered businesses and — for many nursing facilities — limited visitations for families.

“It represents some hope of being able to get control over this virus that has upended so many lives,” Holt said. “We know what the risks are, and this (vaccine) gives us the opportunity to return to normal at some point.”

Residents and staff were monitored after receiving their shots Monday.

A question Lutheran has been fielding regularly regarding the vaccination plan is with its visitation policy moving forward. Holt said Lutheran plans to follow state and federal benchmark guidelines, and noted that visitations likely won’t expand until vaccinations become available to the general public.

Holt lauded the work of Lutheran employees during the pandemic. “I think it’s a testament to the staff that we’ve been successful in limiting the number of positive cases in residents and staff,” he said.

The first COVID vaccines were also set to be administered to residents and staff at Heritage facilities in Greenhurst, Gerry and Jamestown. “We are reaching out to every family to gain permission to roll this out at our skilled nursing facilities,” Lisa Haglund, Heritage president and CEO, said last week. “They are the most vulnerable, and a good percentage of them are signing up to keep their loved ones safe.”

Gov. Andrew Cuomo, in a televised press briefing on Monday, announced that 64,500 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine will have been distributed to facilities in Western New York by the end of this week. In total, over 140,000 doses have been distributed in the state.

The governor also noted that the state’s positivity rate jumped by 2% over the holiday weekend — something he attributes to a decrease in testing seen statewide set against an increase in positive tests within that pool.