Pharmacy Graduate Part of Pfizer COVID Vaccine Team
It was a whirlwind year for Dr. Kofi Amoah, who graduated in May 2019 and began work on a groundbreaking COVID-19 vaccine in March 2020.
It’s been a whirlwind year and a half for Amoah, who graduated in May 2019. After completing an internship at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, he joined Pfizer in August 2019. When the coronavirus pandemic began sweeping the United States in March 2020, he joined the team tasked with creating a vaccine.
“It was a huge responsibility, but it wasn’t scary,” said Amoah. “I learned at Cedarville how to collaborate with a team of people from different types of backgrounds. I knew from my education how to seek out information and how to learn from others in a collaborative setting. I had those opportunities at Cedarville.”
To watch a WHIO-TV news report on Dr. Amoah, click on the play button below:
Amoah serves as a medical outcome specialist at Pfizer, serving as a go-between for three different Pfizer clinical sites. He was responsible for collecting and collating data on side effects of the vaccine ranging from serious to mild, passed along questions from one test site to another, and ensured that Pfizer senior researchers were following proper protocols when recruiting test subjects. He continues to work with Pfizer on testing.
His new business, Sterling Rapid Response, has been approved by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as a vaccine provider for 500,000 patients. This allows Sterling to set up a mobile clinic and collaborate with Hamilton County Public Health and the Springdale (OH) Health Department to help administer and distribute the vaccine.
Amoah has reached out to the Cedarville school of pharmacy asking for students, interns, and professors who could help administer the vaccine in these locations once the vaccine is more readily available.
“I’m able to hire pharmacists, pharmacist interns, pharmacy technicians, nurses, and doctors to work with public health departments, hospitals, and the community to get the vaccine out,” he said.
For instance, Amoah explained, the public health department will schedule patients, but his business will supply the labor for administering the vaccine. “We can also help with scheduling and with filing side effect reports,” he added.
“I am most grateful to Cedarville,” Amoah said. “My wife, Veronica, and I both graduated from the Cedarville school of pharmacy, and we have always been welcomed with open arms by the faculty. They are always there to help and guide you. Interim Dean Dr. Aleda Chen has called me to see how things are going, and Dr. Thad Franz has been following up as well.”
"I am so proud of Kofi and all of our alumni who leave the Cedarville school of pharmacy program with a heart toward serving our communities,” commented Franz, vice-chair of experiential programs and associate professor of pharmacy practice. “I am encouraged by the innovative mindset Kofi and others have portrayed since graduating. It is what our profession needs as we continue to face the pandemic and care well for the patients we love."
“This whole journey has been by the hand of God,” Amoah said. “He always has a plan for us and always directs our path. No one knew what was going on, but one truth encouraged me every morning, that he knows the plans he has for us. That kept coming back to me every day. With the world in turmoil, it comforted me to know that God is holding all things together.”
Located in southwest Ohio, Cedarville University is an accredited, Christ-centered, Baptist institution with an enrollment of 4,550 undergraduate, graduate and online students in more than 150 areas of study. Founded in 1887, Cedarville is one of the largest private universities in Ohio, recognized nationally for its authentic Christian community, rigorous academic programs, including the Doctor of Pharmacy program, strong graduation and retention rates, accredited professional and health science offerings and high student engagement ranking. For more information about the University, visit www.cedarville.edu.