Vaccinations of health care personnel who are on the front line of treating coronavirus patients began this week. Two health workers were vaccinated on Wednesday during the governor’s statewide news briefing.

One of them, Alena Goergen, director of nursing at the Miller Pointe nursing home in Mandan, said she tested positive for COVID-19 in September, was ill and still has lingering symptoms of the disease including a noticeable loss of stamina.

The state is recommending that people like Goergen get vaccinated even if they have already had the disease, as it may be possible to catch COVID-19 twice.

Goergen said she chose to be vaccinated to protect the patients and staff at long-term care and to avoid contracting the disease again.

Dr. Laura Archuleta, a doctor at St. Alexius Health, was also vaccinated during the briefing. Archuleta said during the briefing that she believes the vaccine is safe and the medical community is behind the vaccine and she does not believe corners were cut during its development and testing. Any side effects appear to be rare and the risk of death from the new coronavirus is much higher than the risk of any potential side effects from the vaccine.

Molly Howell, immunization program manager for the state Health Department, said as of Tuesday night, some 831 doses of the Pfizer vaccine have been administered to health care workers in the state.

The state ordered 6,825 doses of the Pfizer vaccine, which requires two doses four weeks apart.

A second vaccine developed by Moderna has not yet been approved but could be delivered to facilities across the state later this month. The state pre-ordered 13,200 doses of the Moderna vaccine, which also requires two doses but could provide some protection after one dose. The Moderna vaccine also does not need to be stored at as cold a temperature as the Pfizer vaccine.

The availability of both vaccines are limited and front line health care workers are first on the list. Howell said residents of long-term care units is slated to begin the week of Dec. 27.

People who have been vaccinated still must wear face masks and practice social distancing and other measures against the coronavirus, Howell said.

The vaccines are considered a hopeful sign and another tool in the box for getting control of the new coronavirus. Cases have declined in North Dakota in recent weeks but there have been nearly 1,200 deaths due to the virus since the pandemic began, with 163 of the deaths in Ward County. A majority of deaths have been associated with people living in nursing homes or long-term care units. As of Wednesday there were 2,956 active cases of the coronavirus in the state and 193 active cases in Ward County.