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COVID-19 vaccine coming to Florida: Where it will go
The first batch of the COVID-19 vaccine is expected in Orlando as early as Monday morning and hospital systems are ready for it.
MELBOURNE, Fla. - The first batch of the COVID-19 vaccine is expected in Orlando as early as Monday morning and hospital systems are ready for it.
UPS and FedEx are shipping the COVID-19 vaccine across the nation, including Orlando. The first shipment of 179,400 doses is expected in Florida as early as Monday morning.
- 60,450 doses of vaccine will go to Walgreens and CVS to be administered to staff and seniors in long-term care facilities.
- 21,450 doses of the vaccine will go directly to the Florida Department of Health strike teams.
- 97,500 doses will be sent to hospitals for healthcare workers.
Five hospital systems across the state are getting the vaccine, including AdventHealth Orlando. Other hospital systems, like Omni Healthcare, are working to try and get a portion of its allotment in Brevard County and other places.
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"Those hospitals have a plan to distribute their 20,000 doses in adjoining areas," said Craig Deligdish, the CEO & President of Omni Healthcare.
Deligdish predicts that people will start getting vaccinated shortly after hospitals receive it.
"I expect that in Central Florida, people, healthcare workers specifically, and the residents of the skilled nursing facility will begin to receive the vaccine on Tuesday," he said.
Omni Healthcare is prepared to administer the vaccine in its COVID-19 test site drive-thru locations and has the capability to vaccinate about 3,000 people a day.
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"We are in the planning stages for several weeks utilizing the same plans and logistics we've been using to test thousands of people over the last nine months," Deligdish said.
Deligdish is expecting high interest in the COVID-19 vaccine, especially when it's available to the general public. No word yet on when the average person can get the vaccine.
"On a personal level, it seems people are excited about receiving the vaccine," Deligdish said. "That's for a couple of reasons. One: it's safe. Two: it's free and three: it's effective."
Deligdish says there is a concern as the first batch of the COVID-19 vaccine rolls out this week.
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"It's very possible as we roll out the vaccine and begin to administer it to millions of people, we begin to see immune reactions, we begin to see problems that we didn't see in the clinical trials," Deligdish said.
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