UPDATED:
The Pfizer vaccine was given the green light by the FDA Friday night for emergency use and about 20-thousand doses are on their way to Memorial Regional Hospital in Broward. Dr. Randy Katz head of emergency medicine at Memorial says your immune response begins within hours of receiving the shot.
Dr Katz immune response
The first to be vaccinated, health workers and vulnerable seniors. There are some side effects reported about the vaccine, such as fatigue and a headache which may prevent people from getting the second dose. Also children under 16, pregnant women and people with allergies should not receive the shot. Even though Palm Beach County has the third-highest number of COVID cases in Florida area hospitals were left out of the governor’s vaccination plans.
Meanwhile, a White House Coronavirus Task Force report recommends that Florida implement stricter measures for stopping the virus including mask wearing at all times in public, increased physical distancing by reducing capacity or closing indoor spaces at restaurants and bars and limiting gatherings outside of immediate households.
The Dec. 6 report obtained by the Center for Public Integrity also urged leaders to begin warning about the risks of gathering during the December holiday season.
Original Story:
Medical Director and Chief of Emergency Services at Memorial Regional Hospital, Dr. Randy Katz, joined the South Florida Morning Show to talk about how his hospital is preparing for the arrival and eventually administration of the COVID vaccine once it receives emergency approval from the FDA.
The coronavirus vaccine may be available next month in South Florida and Dr. Katz says his hospital, Hollywood Memorial, will be dispensing the Pfizer vaccine which is a two shot cocktail.
Dr Katz booster shot
Dr. Katz says you cannot receive the vaccine if you are actively suffering from the coronavirus.
Dr Katz
Dr. Katz says the vaccine may be available as soon as December 15th.
The number of people hospitalized for the coronavirus is rising in South Florida. The Florida Department of Health reports that, as of yesterday, over 11-hundred people are hospitalized in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties. That’s an increase of about 300 from the beginning of the month. The DOH also announced almost three-thousand new cases of COVID-19 in those counties yesterday and 21 new deaths.
Listen to the full interview with Dr. Katz here.