DANVILLE, Va. – Healthcare workers in Virginia started receiving the state’s first doses of a coronavirus vaccine Tuesday. The shots that were given on Tuesday kicked off what is likely to be a months-long process of inoculating people from the potentially deadly disease.

In Danville and Martinsville, Sovah Health received its first shipment of the Pfizer vaccine through FedEx. Chief Medical Officer Dr. Sheranda Gunn-Nolan at Sovah-Danville received the first injection. The shipment size and distribution process was coordinated by the Virginia Department of Health according to federal guidelines.

The Ballad Health system broadcast live video of registered nurse Emily Boucher getting her first shot in an area of southwestern Virginia. Boucher works at Johnston Memorial Hospital in Abingdon. She spoke of COVID-19 patients “who are alone and lonely and scared” and the healthcare workers who sometimes hold up phones to patients’ ears “so they can hear a familiar voice.”

Several health care workers at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital in the eastern part of the state also received injections.

Healthcare workers are a priority as vaccines are distributed. And supplies will be limited for months to come. There likely won’t be enough for the average person to get a shot until spring.

As of December 15, Virginia is reporting 288,309 cases of the coronavirus across the commonwealth since March.