About 90 of the most vulnerable residents and 80 health professionals received the first doses of the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine in John Knox Village, the elderly community said.
Vera Leip, 88, has lived there for 16 years. She was one of the first seniors in Florida to get vaccinated Wednesday.
Leip was supposed to receive the dose around nine in the morning, but vaccination was delayed until Gov. Ron DeSantis arrived around 1 p.m.
DeSantis left without receiving questions from reporters.
Across the state, the elderly have been affected by this pandemic.
While residents age 65 and older account for approximately 14% of Covid-19 cases in Florida, they account for approximately 83% of the more than 20,000 coronavirus deaths in the state, according to the Florida Department of Health. .
And 39% of the state’s Covid-19 deaths are related to long-term care centers, including residents and health care workers.
Now, the state is facing a wave of new post-Thanksgiving infections.
Since Thanksgiving, Covid-19 hospitalizations in Florida have increased by 37%, according to the COVID follow-up project.
DeSantis announced last week that at least 21,450 doses of vaccine will be delivered to long-term care centers, and more are expected in the coming days.
These 21,450 initial doses were intended for care centers in two counties: Pinellas and Broward, according to the Florida Health Care Association.