1/11/2021

Florida Department of Health Highlights Proactive Actions and Progress on State's Vaccine Distribution Plan

The Florida Department of Health issued an update on the proactive actions and progress on the state's vaccine distribution plan, as well as its weekly COVID-19 update.

The State of Florida is in its fourth week of vaccine distribution and doses have been delivered to all of Florida's 67 county health departments and hospitals in every region across the state. Thanks to the administration’s proactive efforts to prepare for vaccine distribution, Florida was the first state in the nation to begin vaccinating staff and residents of long-term care facilities, as well as to the broader senior population. Governor DeSantis has been leading the charge to make the vaccine more accessible in communities by establishing innovative public-private partnerships with companies such as Publix Supermarkets, as well as a program with churches to make the vaccine accessible in underserved areas. The Governor has also directed the conversion of state-supported testing sites into vaccination centers, including the Miami Hard Rock Stadium, which already has vaccinations underway. Additional details are provided below.

Vaccinations:

To provide Floridians with the latest information about vaccinations in the state, the Florida Department of Health has issued a COVID-19 vaccine report that will be updated daily. This report includes information on the COVID-19 vaccine by county, race, sex and age. Find the COVID-19 vaccine report here. As of today, at 7 a.m., 443,616 individuals have been vaccinated for COVID-19 in Florida. The Department of Health continues to provide updates on cases, testing and fatalities related to COVID-19. Please find all daily reports here. 

State of Florida Vaccine Accomplishments To-Date

To date, the state has received more than 1.2 million vaccine doses. The state continues to work closely with the federal government to secure additional shipments. The state is expecting to receive 250,000 additional allocations throughout next week.

Florida was the first state in the nation to begin offering vaccines to staff and residents to more than 4,000 long-term care facilities and was also the first state in the nation to begin offering vaccines to EMTs and paramedics. Florida is also now the first state in the nation to mobilize county health departments and county emergency managers to actively vaccinate seniors 65 and older in the community.

Governor DeSantis’ administration is taking the necessary steps to ensure the vaccine – that is now present in every corner of the state – gets administered as quickly as possible. This week, new actions to continue Florida’s proactive approach to vaccinations include:

Week Four (Underway)

• Governor DeSantis directed the Florida Division of Emergency Management to work with the Florida Department of Health to identify state-run COVID-19 testing sites that can convert into vaccine sites. The first of these opened at the Miami Hard Rock Stadium this week. The site is able to do 1,000 appointments per day. 
• Governor DeSantis directed the Florida Division of Emergency Management to identify places of worship and other locations in underserved communities where the vaccine may be administered. Each site will administer 500 doses of the vaccine. All appointments for these locations have been filled and walk-ups will not be accepted. The locations are:
• Lynn Haven Senior Center 905 Pennsylvania Ave. Lynn Haven, FL 32444
• New Mount Olive Baptist Church 400 NW 9th Fort Lauderdale, FL 33311
• Koinonia Worship Center 4900 W. Hallandale Beach Blvd Hollywood, FL 33023
• Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church 501 W. Orange Ave. Tallahassee, FL 32310
• John Progressive Missionary Baptist Church 2504 Chipco St. Tampa, FL 33605
• Bernadette Catholic Church 350 NW California Blvd. Port St. Lucie, FL 34986
• Matthew Baptist Church 3811 Moncrief Rd. Jacksonville, FL 32209
• Governor DeSantis directed the Florida Division of Emergency Management to immediately hire 1,000 contract nurses to support vaccination efforts. These nurses are being deployed throughout the entire state to help run vaccination sites. These nurses will supplement the many personnel already in the field, including 800 Florida National Guardsmen, who have been supporting the state’s response since the beginning of the pandemic.
• Governor DeSantis directed the Florida Division of Emergency Management to assume additional responsibilities regarding the administration of vaccines in more than 3,000 assisted living facilities across the state, supplementing and accelerating the efforts being undertaken by CVS and Walgreens, pursuant to their agreement with the federal government.
• Governor Ron DeSantis announced a state partnership with Publix Supermarkets to establish COVID-19 vaccination sites through a new pilot program at 22 of their stores in Marion, Hernando and Citrus counties.
• Governor DeSantis announced the opening of two new vaccination sites operated by Ascension Sacred Heart Hospital – one at Pensacola’s Olive Baptist Church, and the other at the Milton Community Center.
• In the last three weeks, doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been distributed to 226 hospital locations. As part of this allocation, hospitals received enough doses to vaccinate their entire frontline health care staff, with vaccine doses remaining. The list of hospitals that have received vaccine allocations is available here.
• More than 60 vaccination sites have been opened statewide in partnership with local communities and hospitals. Find the full list here. 
• Orlando Health announced the opening of seven community vaccination sites.

Week Three

• Florida remained full speed ahead at vaccinating the state’s most vulnerable residents and sent doses of vaccine to all 67 county health departments.
• Florida received more than 127,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine and distributed doses to the remaining county health departments and hospitals that had not received the vaccine to-date.
• Florida received more than 118,900 doses of the Pfizer vaccine, which is being used to administer the second dose at the original five pilot hospitals, and long-term care facilities in Broward and Pinellas Counties who received their first dose through Florida Department of Health and Florida National Guard strike teams.

Week Two

• Florida received the first shipment of the Moderna vaccine, which was immediately sent to more than 170 hospital locations that spanned the entire state.
• Governor DeSantis signed an executive order to give next vaccination priority to seniors age 65 and older, as well as highlighting the start of CVS and Walgreens’ administration of vaccines at long-term care facilities.

Week One

• Five pilot hospitals received an allocation of the Pfizer vaccine for frontline health care workers and residents of long-term care facilities. At the Governor’s direction, they shared with neighboring hospitals.
• The Governor directed the Florida Department of Health, Florida Division of Emergency Management and Florida National Guard to mobilize EMS strike teams to immediately begin offering vaccines to staff and residents of long-term care facilities to supplement Operation Warp Speed partner efforts a week ahead of schedule.
• Florida offered vaccines to all staff and residents at more than 100 facilities in Pinellas and Broward Counties in just 6 days.
• Agency for Health Care Administration Emergency Rule 59AER20-015 and Emergency Rule 59AER20-014 required all Nursing Homes (NHs) and Assisted Living Facilities (ALFs) to enroll in the Federal Pharmacy Partnership for Long-Term Care Program no later than 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, December 3, 2020. Through this program we have successfully enrolled 98% of all ALFs and 100% of ALFs.

About the Florida Department of Health

The Florida Department of Health, nationally accredited by the Public Health Accreditation Board, works to protect, promote and improve the health of all people in Florida through integrated state, county and community efforts.

Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter at @HealthyFla. For more information please visit www.FloridaHealth.gov.