In a video posted to his official Twitter account, Gov. DeSantis stated he was in Washington D.C. this week to discuss distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine.
DeSantis says the federal government has allocated 179,400 doses of the vaccine, from Pfizer, to the state of Florida.
The vaccine doses are projected to arrive in the state of Florida within the coming week.
Florida will receive 179,400 doses of the Pfizer vaccine & we are prioritizing our most vulnerable residents & high-exposure health care personnel to receive the vaccine first. We are also mobilizing strike teams to supplement vaccination of long-term care residents. pic.twitter.com/wmBcE4pGD1
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) December 10, 2020
The governor said vulnerable residents and high-exposure healthcare personnel will receive the Pfizer vaccine first. He said Florida, just like any other state, will not have enough doses of the medication to “vaccinate everyone right off the bat.”
“We are also mobilizing strike teams to supplement vaccination of long-term care residents,” the tweet to DeSanits’ account stated.
The governor says the first round of the 179,400 doses of the Pfizer vaccine will be allocated as follows:
97,500 doses will be sent to hospitals to administer vaccine to high-contact and high-exposure health care personnel.
60,450 doses of vaccine will be sent to CVS and Walgreens for use in long-term care facilities. Both companies are under contract with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to administer vaccines inside those facilities.
21,450 doses of vaccine will go directly to the Florida Department of Health. We will be using strike teams from Health, the Florida Division of Emergency Management, and the Florida National Guard to go into long-term care facilities and administer the vaccine in areas with a high concentration of facilities.
These efforts will supplement those that CVS and Walgreens are preparing to undertake as partners in Operation Warp Speed.
The news comes following an announcement by a U.S. government advisory panel has endorsed Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine. A final FDA decision is expected within days.
