One day before an FDA panel of medical experts is set to scrutinize data and vote on whether to recommend the emergency use authorization (EUA) of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine, Florida's governor is sharing its distribution plan.
Should the vaccine be approved, DeSantis says the state is prepared for 367,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine next week. Those doses will then be distributed to 173 hospitals that missed out on getting the Pfizer vaccines.
"The state is able to distribute this vaccine to a large number of hospitals as the Moderna vaccine does not require ultra-cold storage," DeSantis wrote.
Among the hospitals spanning 43 counties, 40 are in the Tampa Bay area.
According to the governor, the following hospitals are among those to get the first shipment of Moderna vaccines:
- AdventHealth Carrollwood
- AdventHealth Connerton
- AdventHealth Dade City
- AdventHealth Lake Wales
- AdventHealth North Pinellas
- AdventHealth Sebring
- AdventHealth Tampa
- AdventHealth Wesley Chapel
- AdventHealth Wauchula
- AdventHealth Zephyrhills
- Bartow Regional Medical Center
- Bayfront Health St. Petersburg
- Blake Medical Center
- Citrus Memorial Hospital
- Doctors Hospital of Sarasota
- Encompass Health Rehabilitation Hospital of Sarasota
- Moffit Cancer Center
- Highlands Regional Medical Center
- John’s Hopkins All Children’s Hospital
- Lakeland Regional Medical Center
- Lakewood Ranch Medical Center
- Largo medical Center
- Manatee Memorial Hospital
- Mease Countryside Hospital
- Mease Dunedin Hospital
- Medical Center of Trinity
- Morton Plant Hospital
- Morton Plant North Bay Hospital
- Northside Hospital
- Palmetto General Hospital
- Sarasota Memorial Hospital
- South Bay Hospital
- South Florida Baptist Hospital
- Springbrook Hospital
- St. Anthony’s Hospital
- St. Joesphs Hospital North
- St. Joesphs Hospital South
- St. Petersburg General Hospital
- Tampa Community Hospital
- Winter Haven Hospital
You can read the state's full list of hospitals here.
The advisory committee will meet from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday to make their decision on the latest vaccine up for review. If recommended, the final decision on an EUA will be up to the FDA.
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