At Florida’s largest nursing home, excitement marks first shipments of Moderna vaccine
Wearing the same protective gear she’s worn for months, Miami Jewish Health nurse Cynthia Banada can finally hold up a tiny flask with a clear, thin liquid inside. She loads up the syringe, full of hope, with the freshly authorized Moderna vaccine for Eulalio Gonzalez, an 82-yearold resident of the longterm care facility, the largest nursing home in the southeastern U.S.
After getting vaccinated, Gonzalez said he was grateful to be one of the first and waved his hands excitedly. But he warned, “I don’t want it for me alone.”
“There are some people who think it’s scary. But it’s much scarier to catch the disease,” Gonzalez told the Miami Herald.
As more doses of the FDA-authorized PfizerBioNTech and Moderna vaccines are expected to be delivered to nursing homes in Florida before the end of the year, staffs at the facilities are ramping up their efforts to get as many of their residents and employees vaccinated as possible. According to Jason Pincus, the nursing home administrator, about 75% to 80% of a little over 400 residents surveyed here agreed to receive the vaccine.
Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, nursing homes in Florida continue to be especially hard hit. As of the state’s Dec. 21 report, COVID-19 has killed 7,938 Florida residents and staff at eldercare facilities. Since the summer surge of cases in the state, resident deaths are outpacing staff deaths for the first time. A recent report by the AARP showed nursing home deaths in Florida more than doubled over the Thanksgiving holiday.
“We’ve done our best to educate residents and resident families as well as staff,” said Dr. Shaun Corbett, chief medical officer at Miami Jewish Health. “There is concern among some in terms of how quickly the vaccine was created and us being first as far as long-term care facilities, but many of the residents particularly their families have been very receptive and have been looking forward to this.”
According to the state’s plan, Florida is slated to get 367,000 doses of Moderna’s vaccine before the end of the year. As of Sunday, 122,881 people had received a dose of COVID-19 vaccine in Florida, including both the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines.
The shipment of Moderna vaccines, a total of about 700 doses, arrived at Miami Jewish Health on Dec. 23. The first group of residents and employees received the first doses on Christmas Eve. The rest will be vaccinated in the next two days.
“We expect to [have] a high compliance rate in terms of vaccinating residents,” said Corbett. “We’ve been waiting for vaccines since the start of the pandemic, essentially.”
Miami Jewish Health was set to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine last week from the Florida Department of Health. Instead, they were later
told they’d be receiving the Moderna vaccine, which does not need to be stored in special freezers in significantly low temperatures and has a shorter shelf life. Both vaccines require two doses, within weeks of each other, to be fully effective. Neither vaccine has been proven to provide full immunity from the respiratory disease.
Assisted living and other community facilities do not qualify for this first round of vaccinations at Miami Jewish Health.
Each vial of the Mod
erna vaccine holds enough for 10 doses. Before getting the vaccine, recipients received a five-page fact sheet explaining that the Moderna vaccine is not yet approved by the Food and Drug Administration and some of the potential side effects. The FDA has issued emergency use authorizations for both the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines.
Luz Collazo, who will turn 104 in January, was another resident vaccinated in front of reporters on Monday.
“This is the second
pandemic that she’s seen,” said Corbett, referring to the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic. “Probably one of the few probably nationwide that’s had the unfortunate but interesting experience to live through both.”
But widespread vaccination is just one more measure to keep nursing homes safe, Corbett said. Advocates of elder care facilities have blamed the cluster of cases on the state’s reluctance to make testing mandatory, especially amid nursing homes reopening for visitations.
All residents, staff and visitors get a rapid COVID-19 test at Miami Jewish Health. Reporters and photojournalists also received tests on Monday.
Corbett said that the pandemic has taken a toll on nursing home staff, who care for residents 24 hours a day. They’ve received nursing assistance from the state, particularly when they’ve experienced a surge in cases.
“This is one piece of the puzzle, but an exciting one,” Corbett said. “It’s been worth the wait.”