BATON ROUGE - Nearly nine months after novel coronavirus crept into Louisiana to upend life for thousands, hospitals across the state are armed with a COVID-fighting vaccine that they've already begun administering to the state's frontline healthcare workers.

Baton Rouge General Hospital has received 1,400 doses of Pfizer's new vaccine and the Our Lady of the Lake healthcare systems reports receiving a total shipment of 1,750 doses of the vaccine.

Baton Rouge General Hospital began administering inoculations to its healthcare workers Wednesday (Dec. 16) at 8 a.m.

#Batonrougegeneral administers first vaccine of the day . @WBRZ pic.twitter.com/DJepZ6QW6t

— Rae'ven Nicole Jackson (@RaevenJack) December 16, 2020

On Tuesday, Ochsner Baton Rouge administered about 180 vaccinations and it expects to dole out 90 more inoculations Wednesday.

An Ochsner healthcare provider explained her feelings about Pfizer's vaccine, saying, "I just think this vaccine is headed in the right direction. That way, we can get a handle on this pandemic."

Frontline healthcare workers, such as hospital staff and EMT personnel, are included in this initial wave of vaccination recipients. Nursing home employees and patients will be included in the next phase.

Additionally, though Pfizer's immunization shot is currently the only COVID-fighting vaccination approved for emergency use by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), it's soon expected to be joined by a similar vaccine produced by the Massachusetts-based pharmaceutical company, Moderna.