TAMPA, Fla. – The next two weeks with COVID-19 vaccine shipments from Pfizer have been suspended.
Governor Ron DeSantis said it is a manufacturing issue where Pfizer is causing the delay.
“We’d get enough for week two, that’s 205,000 from Pfizer next week and 247,000 next week,” said DeSantis. Pfizer’s shipments for the next two weeks are now on hold. We don’t know whether we’ll get one or not, and we’ll just have to wait. “
The doses Florida has received to date are already being administered, and AdventHealth Tampa will begin mass vaccinations for its frontline workers on Wednesday.
The hospital will vaccinate up to 300 front-line workers on Wednesday.
It has just received its first shipment of the Pfizer vaccine from Tampa General Hospital, one of five hospitals in the state responsible for delivering the vaccine to other hospitals.
Gov. DeSantis said dividing the vaccine that way is a test, and so far it appears to be working. “All five hospitals help with other hospitals in the area. We were limited to five hospitals because they didn’t want it to go to 200 hospitals and make every mistake worse. “
Tampa General received 19,500 doses of the vaccine Monday, and AdventHealth is the first on-site hospital to receive the drug from TGH.
AdventHealth has formed an internal task force to create one of the first mass vaccination sites in the state for health workers.
Gov. DeSantis said that by vaccinating front-line workers, it prevents large numbers of health workers from having to isolate themselves because of exposure to the virus.
Moderna’s Coronavirus vaccine is expected to receive emergency use clearance from the FDA by the end of this week, giving the state approximately 370,000 additional doses in the first round.