Multiple reports say that AdventHealth Orlando will be one of the first hospitals in Florida to administer COVID-19 vaccines.
Tampa General Hospital, UF Health Jacksonville, Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood and Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami are the other four hospitals in Florida that will store the vaccine while they wait for final approval to use it, officials said Wednesday.
The South Florida Sun Sentinel says the first vaccines are supposed to arrive in mid-December, with another shipment coming in January. The vaccine is not yet approved for use, but the Sentinel writes that “the vaccine stored by hospitals will be whichever the government approves first, possibly Pfizer’s.”
In a statement, AdventHealth wrote, “Many details will be worked out in the weeks and months ahead.” The Sentinel report says that administration of whichever vaccine arrives will entail a phased approach that creates groups based on priority.
“During the first phase, the vaccine will be available for front-line health care workers in hospitals, long-term-care staff and residents, and first responders,” Lidia Amoretti, spokeswoman for Jackson Health System, told the newspaper.
A version of this post first appeared on our sister paper's website, Creative Loafing Tampa.
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