ORLANDO, Fla. – Leaders with AdventHealth Orlando are discussing plans for distributing a COVID-19 vaccine once the approval process with the Food and Drug Administration is complete.
During a weekly briefing on Thursday, Dr. Steven Smith said plans have been put in place to administer vaccinations.
“Vaccine distribution would occur very rapidly, so we’re anticipating potentially as early as Monday or Tuesday of next week,” he said.
AdventHealth Orlando is one of five hospitals in the state selected to store and distribute Florida’s initial allotment of a vaccine.
Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday said the five hospitals are expected to receive a total of 100,000 doses during the first shipment.
“We’re not going to store the vaccines for very long,” Smith said. “We’re going to get them in, get them out and then another shipment will follow that.”
Frontline healthcare workers have been highlighted as one of the first groups to receive vaccinations.
Smith said stations have been set up across Central Florida for AdventHealth workers to receive some of the first doses.
“We’re looking at vaccinating several hundred people per day, and we’ll take whatever supply we get from the state,” he said.
Specifics for long-term care residents, which is another prioritized group, weren’t announced during Thursday’s briefing.
DeSantis previously said that 80,000 doses would be sent to CVS and Walgreens locations to vaccinate the high-risk group.