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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said he was at the Tampa General cargo dock at 10 a.m. Monday when the COVD-19 vaccine arrived and “had the privilege” of signing the Federal Express delivery receipt.
Tampa General, UF Health Jacksonville and three other major hospitals will split about 100,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine between Monday and Tuesday. They will administer it to their staff members, distribute the vaccine to other nearby hospitals and to front-line health workers. Another 60,000 will go to CVS and Walgreens to administer to residents and staff of long-term care facilities.
DeSantis said the state will also receive 20,000 from the state to supplement private vendors who donate vaccines to LTC facilities.
“We think we’ll get there in a good time,” DeSantis said during a press conference. “So far things have gone well.”
The governor said more than 40 states had higher per capita rates of new infections and hospitalizations than Florida and the vaccine should prevent cases from exceeding the capacity of state hospitals to handle patients with COVID-19.
The dean of the University of South Florida Medical Center, Charles Lockwood, described the arrival of the first vaccine as a “magic moment” and compared it to Neil Armstrong walking on the moon.
“We are in the fourth quarter. We are in the last minutes of the fourth quarter, “said Lockwood, but added quickly. “Please keep wearing masks, distancing yourself socially, avoiding big meetings. It will make a big difference and we will return to normal very quickly “.
DeSantis anticipated FDA approval of the Modern vaccine later this week and perhaps another vaccine approval early next year. He hoped Florida could see 1 million Floridians vaccinated in the near future.
“I guess most people in the display area will have access to the vaccine at some point in the first six months of next year,” said Justin Senior, CEO of Safety Net Hospital Alliance, which includes UF Health and Ascension St. Vincent told News4Jax.
Senior, the former secretary of the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration, described Monday as a “huge day.”
“I think it has the potential to be a huge turning point in the fight against COVID-19,” he said.
During the press conference, DeSantis turned his attention to the administration of Tampa General’s first vaccine to an emergency nurse, calling her a “zero patient” in Florida, even though 10 UF Health employees in Jacksonville they received the vaccine about 45 minutes earlier.
DeSantis left the room without wondering why the state did not make public the White House coronavirus Task Force reports for Florida.
The December 6 working group report, obtained by the Center for Public Integrity, listed much of Florida in the red zone for COVID-19 and recommended stricter measures to stop the virus, including masking. at all times in public, increasing physical distancing by reducing capacity or closing indoor spaces to restaurants and bars and limiting meetings outside nearby homes.
The working group also urged leaders to start warning about the risks of meeting during the December holidays.
Last week, two newspapers denounced Governor Ron DeSantis’ administration for not making the weekly reports public.
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