ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – The COVID-19 vaccine is now in St. Johns County.
Several Flagler Health Plus workers got their first doses Tuesday afternoon. They’re among the first in the county to have access to the immunizations.
It was a quick stick, then sighs of relief, as four doctors and nurses received the shots simultaneously. Medical staff clapped as they waited in line for theirs.
“Very minimal if any discomfort,” said Brian Kiekover, M.D., who runs the hospital’s emergency department. “This allows us to feel like we have some type of immunity against this hidden foe. So this is power.”
Flagler received its first batch of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines Tuesday morning. This vaccine requires ultra-cold storage and two doses spaced about two weeks apart. Timing is critical.
There were 191 new cases reported Monday in St. Johns County. That’s the county’s biggest single-day increase in cases since the start of the pandemic. It brings the state’s total to more than 1.2 million coronavirus cases.
Flagler Health Plus had 27 known COVID-19 patients admitted as of Monday, hospital representative Erin Wallner said.
Doctors hope the vaccine will increase in availability and consequently cut down cases, hospitalizations and deaths.
“When we were starting to use a lot of ventilators and a lot of ICU space,” Kiekover said as he reflected on the months of April and May. “That was probably the darkest time.”
This is the county’s first batch of the vaccine, arriving a week after the first vaccines were given in Jacksonville at UF Health. Healthcare workers at Ascension St. Vincent’s, Baptist Health, Mayo Clinic, Memorial Hospital began receiving theirs last week.
Over the next few days, the medical workers at Flagler who are most likely to be exposed to COVID-19 will have their shot at the immunizations. More shipments in the future will mean more access for other employees.
It’s light at the end of the tunnel in the eyes of Kiekover. “I think with the vaccine coming out, I’m hoping that this may return to some normalcy to this world,” he said.
Wallner said there was no word on the next shipment, but those who got shots Tuesday will have to come back for their second round on Jan. 12. That’s when experts say they’ll get closer to full immunity.