JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — In just hours, trucks shipping Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine will leave to deliver it across the country. The Food and Drug Administration approved the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine Friday for emergency use.
According to Army General Gustave Perna of Operation Warp Speed, UPS and FedEx will start to deliver the vaccine to close to 150 distribution centers across the country. The first doses will arrive at the centers Monday, while an additional 425 sites will receive shipments Tuesday, and 66 others on Wednesday.
“The authorization for this vaccine is a significant milestone in battling a devastating pandemic that has affected so many families in the US and around the world," FDA Commissioner Dr. Stephen M. Hahn said in a press conference Saturday morning.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis picked five hospitals across Florida to receive and distribute the vaccine, including UF Health in Jacksonville. According to doctors there, the vaccine could arrive at UF Health in the next few days.
"It’s really gratifying when all of this comes together," Dr. Michael Koren of the Jacksonville Center for Clinical Research said.
"This, really collaborative effort, to go from a crazy horrible virus to a fabulous solution in less than a year," he said.
Dr. Koren heads up the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccine trials on the First Coast.
"Kudos by the way to all of our First Coast population. Lots of people have volunteered. They’ve done tremendous things to make themselves available to this research," Koren said.
He also treats COVID-19 patients.
“There’s only two ways to become immune to COVID-19: either get the disease or get the vaccine, and I know what I plan on doing and that’s to get the vaccine," Koren said.
“Emergency use authorization is different than approval. So, when a product is approved it means that the manufacturer can sell it to hospitals and pharmacies and things like that. But for emergency use, it means it’s under control of the government basically," Koren said.
Florida will receive more than 179,000 doses of the vaccine in the first round. Keep in mind, the vaccine needs two doses to be effective, so that number is split in half when it comes to the number of people getting the vaccine in the first round. In the first shipment, 97,500 doses will go to hospitals, like UF Health. They will be distributed to health care workers in high-exposure parts of the hospital.
Doctors at UF Health said they've been preparing to store the vaccine for a while, prep that includes storing it in negative 70 degree Celsius temperatures.
Close to 82,000 doses will go to nursing homes and assisted living facilities. The vaccine isn't expected to be available to the general public until the spring or summer of 2021.
“These are high standards of review in reviewing this product so Americans can have trust and confidence that the vaccine meets the FDA’s rigorous standards for safety and effectiveness," Dr. Hahn said.
According to Koren, some Pfizer vaccine trials are ongoing for certain populations, like 12 to 16-year-olds and pregnant women. The advisory committee for Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine meets Thursday. Koren said he expects the FDA to approve the Moderna vaccine for emergency use by the end of the week.
Jacksonville Center for Clinical Research is also conducting studies for a third vaccine, this one produced by Novavax. You can enroll right now on the center's website.