First shipment of the Pfizer vaccine arrives at Memorial Health System
DORAL, FL – Memorial Health System in Broward County received their first shipment of the new Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine on Monday morning.
It will be used to inoculate South Florida’s frontline workers who are in contact with COVID-19 patients. A nurse will be the first to receive the first of two doses.
Today, in the afternoon, the hospital plans to begin the immunization process during a public event in Miramar, reported Local 10 News.
The vaccine was packed in dry ice to keep it under minus 70 degrees Celsius. Memorial Health System staff was in charge of unpacking it and place it inside specialized freezers.
But the approved vaccine will also arrive at the Florida Department of Health in Broward County sometime today, and at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami-Dade County on Tuesday when the first shipment lands. The second dose will be in the county three weeks from now.
“I am very excited. I mean, 95% effective. I hope everyone will be able to get the vaccine. It is fantastic. It is great for us,” said Jackson Memorial Hospital Social Worker Peggy Jones-Gonzalez, as reported by CBS Miami.
CVS and Walgreens in Florida will receive 60,000 doses to distribute at long-term care facilities and by the end of the week, Florida will have 179,000 doses of the vaccine against the coronavirus. Hospitals will receive 100,000 doses and another 19,000 will go to the state.
The first person to get vaccinated within the state was nurse Vanessa Arroyo who works at Tampa General Hospital. She did so while at a news conference with Gov. RonDeSantis.
In the United States, on Monday morning Sandra Lindsay became the first person to receive the shot. She is a critical care nurse at Long Island Jewish Medical Center in New York.
Next in line after the initial distribution phase are people over the age of 65 with health issues, first responders and essential workers. They will get the immunization once the second shipment arrives early next year.
“This is a game changer. It’s a great a day for the United States and the state of Florida,” Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said, as reported by CBS Miami.
According to the governor, next week Florida will receive 365,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine, pending approval on Thursday and Friday by the Food and Drug Administration.