Cleveland Clinic starts Pfizer vaccinations on Treasure Coast
STUART, Fla. (CBS12) — Doctors and nurses on the front lines at Cleveland Clinic Martin are the first people to receive their first round of COVID-19 vaccination shots in Martin County, as the number of infections remains a concern on the Treasure Coast.
The first doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine were delivered to local hospitals on Monday.
The primary doses were administered to employees at Cleveland Clinic Martin Tuesday morning, confirmed hospital spokesman Scott Samples.
Florida has launched a COVID-19 Vaccine Report that will be updated daily at FloridaHealthCOVID19.gov. That report would include a breakdown of who has received the vaccine by age, race, sex and county.
As outlined in the state’s vaccine distribution plan, the vaccines will first go to health care workers and people in nursing homes.
The vaccine requires two doses, which have to be given 21 days apart.
The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine must also be kept super-cold – at the temperature of dry ice – until shortly before it is used.
As of today, 7,215 people in Martin County have tested positive for coronavirus since the onset of the pandemic, and 191 people have died from the virus, according to the state's surveillance dashboard.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said he expected the general public to begin vaccinations as early as April.
