ORLANDO, Fla. — Gov. Ron DeSantis warned hospitals Monday that if they don’t step up their coronavirus vaccinations, their doses will start to be cut.
At a news conference at the Orlando Health South Seminole Hospital in Longwood on Monday, DeSantis cited the hospital system’s expansion of the vaccine program as an example of what he wants other hospitals to do across the state.
“If they’re exceeding their targets ... and there are other hospitals that are not moving the vaccine, then we’re going to up their allotment,” DeSantis said. “And we’re going to reduce the allotment of any hospital systems that aren’t getting the shots in the arms.”
DeSantis did not elaborate on which hospitals he thinks are lagging.
DeSantis also said he wants Florida to convert some COVID-19 testing sites into vaccination sites, hire 1,000 more nurses, identify churches and other places of worship where people can get the shots, and investigate the most productive way to offer vaccinations at long-term care facilities.
The governor said he couldn’t yet give a specific timeline on how much of the vaccine will be available. He said the state only knows the week before about precise amounts of shipments.
“We’ve gotten it when we’ve gotten it,” DeSantis said. “It hasn’t been perfect. But man, this is a big logistical operation.”
More than 260,000 people have been vaccinated in Florida as of Monday, according to the Department of Health.
On Sunday, Orlando Health said it was expanding the vaccine to front-line health workers in the community, including dentists and emergency responders; residents and staff of long-term care facilities who haven’t been able to get the vaccine; employees’ family members and loved ones who are 65 years and older; and employees who have not yet received the first dose.
Longwood Fire Chief Michael Peters received the first of the two Moderna shots required for immunization during the news conference, in addition to a health care worker and an elderly couple.
DeSantis said Orlando Health will offer the Moderna vaccine at its Dr. Phillips, Winnie Palmer, Central, South Lake and St. Cloud hospitals, as well as Bayfront Health in St. Petersburg.
Orlando Health CEO David Strong said the system would begin expanding its vaccination program to all seniors beginning Jan. 11.
“We will transition ... to going outside of the hospital,” Strong said. “We will open up six clinic locations. A few of those will be drive-thru, trying to make that more accessible than trying to come on a hospital campus. So it will be more of a clinic environment, with even an easier scheduling process.”
George Ralls, the system’s medical chief quality officer, said the logistics of vaccine distribution requires precise scheduling.
“So we’ve really struggled with walk-ins, even this week,” Ralls said. “As much as we’d like to accommodate all that, the uncertainty on the supply forces us to say that we know how many people are going to come for any given day.”
Orlando Health hopes to give 10,000 or more vaccines per week. People need to visit vaccine.orlandohealth.com to register.
Orlando Health hasn’t seen significant adverse reactions to the shots, Ralls said, and about 90% of doctors and 75% of nurses have received it.
Teachers won’t be added to the list just yet for vaccine eligibility because people 65 or older need it more, DeSantis said. But the workforce, in general, is the next target, he said, a goal that will become more feasible when the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine is approved and comes online, which was estimated to happen sometime this month or next.
“You literally could drop a bunch of vaccines at Disney, Orange County Schools, wherever,” DeSantis said. “And they can knock that out pretty quickly. And it’s one dose and done. So I think that makes more sense with essential workers.”
On a broader level, particularly for state-run facilities, the governor says he wants vaccination sites to be open seven days a week.
The governor said people don’t have to be Florida residents to get the vaccine in the state if they’re otherwise eligible.
The first pilot program for distribution at places of worship was at a church in Escambia County in the Panhandle, DeSantis said.
“And it was a great success,” he said. “We were able to vaccinate over 500 seniors, and also have them scheduled for their booster shot, which they will then receive at the same location when that time comes. So you’re going to see this approach all over the state.”
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(Naseem S. Miller of the Orlando Sentinel staff contributed to this report.)
