A file image from 19 June 2020 shows a person vaccinated at the Institute of Tropical Medicine at the University Hospital of Tübingen. (Photo by Christoph Schmidt / picture alliance via Getty Images)
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida, which has endured a surge of coronavirus infections this summer, will participate in a COVID-19 vaccine program with the federal government.
State Surgeon General Scott Rivkees said Tuesday during a conference call with hospital officials that Florida has been invited to be part of a federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention vaccine pilot group. Rivkees said Florida was one of four states chosen to participate, along with the city of Philadelphia.
Rivkees said details for the pilot program “will come as faxes are available,” but he did not elaborate.
The Florida Department of Health did not immediately respond to requests from The News Service of Florida for additional information. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also did not immediately respond to requests for information about the pilot program.
As COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus, spreads across the nation and worldwide, scientists around the world are racing to develop vaccines to slow the spread. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced this week the approval of a fax machine.
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President Donald Trump’s on May 15 announced Operation Warp Speed, which aims to deliver 300 million doses of a safe, effective vaccine for COVID-19 by January 2021. The initiative is aimed at investment in manufacturing and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics.
The pilot program is one of the first glimpses into the Trump administration’s distribution plans. As reported Monday by Congress Quarterly Roll Call, federal officials plan to pay visits to the four states and develop models based on what they learn.
Public health experts believe at least 70 percent of the population should be vaccinated to achieve herd immunity, with officials fearing demand will outpace supply.
The National Governors’ Association recommends that state leaders begin preparations. The association’s best practices committee issued a memorandum on August 3 to encourage incentives to be ready for distribution and included various policy recommendations to consider.
“Although a vaccine is not yet available, lessons from the purchase and distribution of COVID-19 diagnostics and therapeutics suggest that drivers may want to address the challenges of mass distribution before their arrival,” the memo said. National Governors Association. “Immunizing the U.S. population against COVID-19 is likely to be the single largest vaccination campaign ever needed, and administrators will play a key role in bringing leaders of their state public health, immunization, and emergency management systems to design the operation. and to carry it out. “
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In addition to Florida, Rivkees identified Minnesota, California, and South Dakota as the other states that participated in the pilot program. But it appears Rivkees was abused when he said South Dakota. North Dakota joins the pilot.
The North Dakota Department of Health on Monday released a statement saying it was chosen, in part, because the federal government wanted to investigate the strategy of distributing vaccinations to U.S. Indian populations.
Minnesota, meanwhile, announced that it had joined the fax pilot in a media call this month. Kris Ehresmann, an infectious disease officer for the Minnesota Department of Health, described the participating states as “leaders for the country.”
California Department of Health officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
