Richard Meinking, senior director of pharmacy at Maine Medical Center in Portland, opens a box containing vials of Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine on Tuesday.

Super-cold air emerges from a package of coronavirus vaccine vials as Richard Meinking opens the box. Maine Med, part of the MaineHealth group, received 975 doses of the Pfizer vaccine that were delivered to the hospital in Portland around 7:30 a.m. Tuesday.

Condensation forms as super-cold air spills from a freezer while Richard Meinking stores a package of Pfizer coronavirus vaccine vials at a temperature of -75 degrees Celsius.

Hospital staff wait to receive their doses on Tuesday morning. The first inoculation clinics in Maine are being offered to health care workers who have direct patient contact and residents of nursing homes.

Richard Meinking, senior director of pharmacy, holds the first doses just before staff were given the vaccine.

Maine Medical Center staff receive first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer. Kayla Mitchell, 31, a registered nurse who works in the COVID intensive care unit, walks into a room to receive the hospital's first dose on Tuesday morning.

Dr. Christina DeMatteo prepares the vaccine. MaineHealth is expected to receive a total initial allotment of nearly 1,900 doses of the Pfizer vaccine this week.

Dr. Christina DeMatteo, a hospitalist and infectious disease physician at Maine Medical Center, prepares to administer the vaccine to a hospital staff member.

Kayla Mitchell, 31, a registered nurse who works in the COVID intensive care unit, receives the hospital's first dose from Dr. Christina DeMatteo on Tuesday morning. “I’m glad to be part of the solution and help make the community safer for everyone,” Mitchell said.

Danielle Poulin watches as Dr. Christina DeMatteo draws the coronavirus vaccine into a syringe.

Danielle Poulin, a registered nurse who works in the COVID intensive care unit, receives a vaccination from Dr. Christina DeMatteo. "It feels great!" Poulin said, "It feels like the beginning to the end."

Maine Medical Center staff receive the hospital's first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer. No adverse reactions were reported as of Tuesday afternoon.

Michelle Burke, a nurse in the hospital's emergency department, smiles and pulls down her sleeve after receiving the vaccine.

Dr. Nathan Mick, vice chair of the emergency department at Maine Medical Center, receives the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine.