TAMPA, Fla. — Major shipping companies like FedEx and UPS are busy this year with much more than holiday deliveries. They're shipping hundreds of thousands of COVID-19 vaccines across the country.
Just one week after those companies prioritized shipping the Pfizer vaccine, they're fast-tracking Moderna's vaccine to medical centers across the United States. On Sunday, workers packaged up doses in Olive Branch, Mississippi, near the Memphis, Tennessee, area to be transported.
Moderna's vaccine doesn't require the ultra-cold storage that Pfizer's vaccine does, so it can be shipped directly to medical centers without the specialized freezers. Doses are headed to Sarasota Memorial Hospital, Doctors Hospital of Sarasota, Blake Medical Center in Bradenton, Manatee Memorial Hospital, Lakewood Ranch Medical Center, Englewood Community Hospital and 11 of BayCare Health's hospitals in Pinellas, Hillsborough, Pasco and Polk counties.
Tampa Bay area hospitals are expecting their shipments sometime on Monday and plan to begin distribution within 24 hours of receiving them.
Florida's distribution plan is to start with people most at risk of exposure to the virus.
According to Governor Ron DeSantis, the first doses will go to:
- People in long-term care facilities
- High-risk frontline health care workers
- Those 65 and up and anyone with significant comorbidities
The distribution priority list DeSantis outlined is a variation on the COVID-19 vaccination plan template, provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in mid-October and posted to the Florida Department of Health's website, to help local governments develop their vaccine plans.
"While these instructions may help guide plan development, they are not comprehensive, and jurisdictions are reminded to carefully review the CDC COVID-19 Vaccination Program Interim Playbook for Jurisdiction Operations as well as other CDC guidance and resources when developing their plans," the 51-page document said.
> Click here to read Florida's draft of its COVID-19 vaccination plan.
> Click here for drafts of COVID-19 vaccination plans for other states.
Generally speaking, this phased distribution concept is consistent with the COVID-19 Vaccination Program Interim Playbook published by the CDC on Oct. 29.
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