Honoring Pfizer for company's Rockland-based work creating COVID vaccine: Angle

Nancy Cutler, Rockland/Westchester Journal News
·2 min read
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COVID-19 had a dramatic impact on Rockland. The county was one of the first and one of the worst sites for cases in spring 2020. Since the pandemic hit New York, the Rockland County Medical Examiner has recorded 1,189 fatalities linked to COVID.

But Rockland also had a dramatic impact on COVID. Pfizer's vaccine research & development headquarters in Pearl River served as the nexus for a worldwide effort to produce an effective vaccination in record time, using new technology called mRNA.

Rockland County Executive Ed Day on Friday awarded Pfizer's Pearl River team the Key to the County.

Rockland County Executive Ed Day presents a Key to the County to Kathrin Jansen, senior vice president and head of vaccine research & development at Pfizer on Friday, June 24, 2022, at the company's Pearl River campus.
Rockland County Executive Ed Day presents a Key to the County to Kathrin Jansen, senior vice president and head of vaccine research & development at Pfizer on Friday, June 24, 2022, at the company's Pearl River campus.

Accepting the award were Kathrin Jansen, Pfizer senior vice president, head of vaccine research & development at Pfizer, and Steve Bjornson, vice president and COO, vaccine research and development.

"There's a lot of science on this campus," said Bjornson, noting the site's 100-year history as a leader in vaccine and pharmaceutical research. "And it's growing every day."

The site now employs more than 1,000, and is growing, Bjornson said.

Pfizer worked fast as COVID emerged, and the Pearl River site was often at the center of those efforts. Orangetown Supervisor Teresa Kenny, who attended the ceremony at the pharmaceutical corporation's Pearl River campus, said she could track progress by the number of helicopters landing at the campus, seen on flight logs sent to the town.

Pfizer, teamed with BioNTech, called it "Project Light Speed," which focused on producing a vaccine in one year, an unheard-of pace. The first shots were ready in nine months.

"Quite amazing learnings took place," said Jansen, reflecting on the work that happened in Pearl River. "not only for science but for humanity."

Go here to read more about the Rockland-based scientists who worked behind the scenes to save an untold number of lives.

Have a news tip or feedback? Reach out to Nancy Cutler at ncutler@lohud.com.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Rockland Angle newsletter for Monday June 27 2022