Next week, AdventHealth Daytona Beach and Halifax Health Medical Center will receive the first rounds of coronavirus vaccines in Volusia County.
And Ormond in the Pines is expected to be one of the first long-term care facilities in the nation to receive the coronavirus vaccine in the coming weeks.
Margaret Crossman, chief medical officer for Halifax Health, said during the Volusia County meeting Friday morning that having an effective vaccine so quickly is unprecedented. To have vaccines already available to us in less than a year after this pandemic started is truly, truly a miracle, Crossman said. We’ve not seen anything like this before.
As coronavirus continue to climb in the wake of Thanksgiving travels, Volusia County hospitals and government officials are making plans for vaccine distribution that could include the Daytona International Speedway. Much of these plans are dependent on vaccine supply, said Holly Smith, spokesperson for the Florida Department of Health in Volusia County.
The first vaccines will go to frontline healthcare workers and residents of long-term care facilities. Other priority groups, such as first responders and the elderly, will be next.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the country’s top infectious disease expert, estimates the general public will be able to get vaccines beginning in March or April.