Several health care workers at Fort Walton Beach Medical Center also shared their reasons for getting vaccinated.
Olivia Cooke, a registered nurse, said, “I got my COVID-19 vaccine to protect myself and my patients, be able to visit with my family and friends, and to travel again!”
Another registered nurse, Lauren Wagner, said, “I got my COVID-19 vaccine because I want to protect my friends and family.”
Gov. Ron DeSantis has prioritized frontline health care workers as well as residents and staff of long-term care facilities in distributing Florida s allotment of vaccines.
“Thanks to our state’s strong partnership with the federal government and Florida hospitals, more than 146,000 individuals have been vaccinated in Florida, including front-line health care workers, staff and residents of long-term care facilities and individuals 65 and older,” DeSantis said in a statement Tuesday. “This week, Florida will receive over 120,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine and w
“I’m very hopeful. I’m very excited,” Cooke said after receiving the vaccine. “I feel like we’re getting to take some steps towards normalcy.”
Fifty people were immunized in just the first two hours Wednesday, but Dr. Robert Kiskaddon, chief medical officer at Fort Walton Beach Medical Center, said vaccinating all the medical staff and employees will take some time.
“We have estimated about 1,500 people will require the vaccine,” Kiskaddon said. “The process will take probably about a month to get everybody vaccinated.”
Kiskaddon said hospital officials are prioritizing people who deal directly with COVID-19 patients.
“Everybody wants it done in a day, but it is a longer process,” he said. “There is a limited supply of vaccine at this point. We have to make sure the right people are getting it at the right time so that we can be more effective in the way we immunize our population.”
FORT WALTON BEACH Frontline medical workers at Fort Walton Beach Medical Center and Twin Cities Hospital in Niceville are queuing up to receive Moderna s COVID-19 vaccine. The opportunity to receive the COVID-19 vaccine is now a reality, Mitch Mongell, the CEO at Fort Walton Beach Medical Center, said in a news release.
The hospitals were on a list of 181 Florida medical facilities slated to receive a first shipment of the Moderna vaccine. Both announced Tuesday that the first doses had arrived and plans have been made to securely store and safely administer injections.
“The arrival of the COVID-19 vaccine is a pivotal turning point in our fight against this virus. The progress that has been made in these past few months is astounding. We are grateful to be able to provide this added protection to our care team members who have been an immense source of strength and support for our communities,” Mongell said.
This shipment is to include 270,700 doses.
The Moderna vaccines do not have to be stored in the ultra-cold conditions required by the Pfizer vaccines.
Hospitals on the list to receive Moderna shipments are:
Fort Walton Beach Medical Center (Okaloosa County)
Twin Cities Hospital (Okaloosa County)
Ascension Sacred Heart, (Escambia, Walton)
Baptist Hospital (Escambia)