A representative from Clarion Hospital accepts a shipment of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine Thursday, Dec. 17, 2020. Butler Memorial Hospital also received the vaccine Thursday.

Butler Health System received its shipment of COVID-19 vaccines on the same day its administration sent out a video tribute praising its staff.

BHS officials confirmed both Butler Memorial and Clarion hospitals received their shipments of the vaccine. Healthcare workers at both hospitals, especially those working closest to the virus, will receive the non-mandatory vaccine starting Friday.

In addition to the vaccine, the staff at BHS also received a video tribute narrated by Ken DeFurio and showing photos and videos of the staff working in various capacities throughout the pandemic.

“You continue to weather the storm and keep your chin up. You are the best,” he said. “We are so proud of you.”

On Wednesday, BHS had reported continued high levels of hospitalizations with 52 inpatients at Butler Memorial Hospital and 19 at Clarion Hospital.

Similarly, the statewide data reported by the Pennsylvania Department of Health showed a continued high hospitalization rate, including 6,346 patients with 1,238 of those patients being treated in intensive care units.

The state also reported Thursday the addition of 224 new deaths statewide due to COVID-19 and 9,966 residents testing positive for the virus.

Three Butler County residents were among those losses Thursday, and county residents accounted for 92 of the state's new cases.

This is a breaking news report — read more in Friday's Butler Eagle.