| Florida Today
Although the families of health professionals have not been specifically covered in any vaccination plans established by Florida and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the spouses of Health First members have already started receiving the first doses.
The change was not without controversy when news of an email from Health First to employees’ families started to come out last week.
That email, sent to Health First members on behalf of Brian Connor, director of operations, outpatient and wellness services, said: “If you received a vaccine from Health First on Monday, December 21, Sunday, December 27th, your spouse also has the opportunity to receive one next Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday. Click here to apply. “
“Because of the sensitivity of time and the expected interest in the vaccine, it is essential that those who apply to be vaccinated show up at the designated time and place to ensure proper and timely administration of the vaccines.”
In a statement on Monday, Health First said it decided to allow employees’ spouses to be among the first to be vaccinated because the company was instructed by the state to distribute vaccines as soon as possible when it received its first doses on December 21. when it became clear that supplies would be available after vaccinating health workers, the health system expanded its offerings.
“Due to the short term and on Christmas Eve, we expanded our frontline employees to any groups that could participate in the past weekend,” wrote Health First. “As it became evident that we would still have doses available, we also offered the vaccine to the spouses of members who had already been vaccinated. Our current quarantine guidelines state that if a vaccinated associate’s spouse hires COVID, the vaccinated associate must still be quarantined and will not be eligible to care for our patients. By vaccinating the associate and his or her spouse, this allows us to continue our staffing plans to meet Brevard’s needs. “
Among the first spouses to get the vaccine was Milo Zonka, a former Palm Bay city council member and husband of Brevard County Commissioner Kristine Zonka, who is also a part-time nurse at Health First.
Milo Zonka posted on Facebook that he had received the COVID-19 vaccine on Sunday. Then, feeling that his post may have been insensitive to some who suffered from COVID-19, he removed it on Monday morning, before being contacted by FLORIDA TODAY.
“My post was cheerful and the response of at least one friend was anguished because of concern for a family member,” said Zonka.
Alone and concerned: Florida seniors question when they will receive the COVID-19 vaccine
But the news that Health First spouses were in line to get the vaccine before other healthcare professionals was enough to cause anger in some members of the medical community. Several health professionals sent an email to FLORIDA TODAY to express their frustration, some asked to remain anonymous.
“As a healthcare professional who has direct contact with patients every day, I am shocked. As a resident of Brevard County, who understands that even before many other elderly people with underlying diseases deserve this treatment, I am furious, wrote a woman who signed her note: “A very concerned nurse.”
Valerie McClung, a nurse who works at the Life Care Center in Palm Bay, a long-term care institution in Palm Bay, said she, her co-workers and her patients have not yet been vaccinated.
“But does Health First allow spouses of members who have been vaccinated to receive the vaccine?” McClung wrote in an email to FLORIDA TODAY. “Even at the age of 20. It’s disgusting. Another slap in the face for our residents – the best generation – and, apparently, the most disposable.”
In its statement on Monday, Health First said it was developing plans to vaccinate independent healthcare providers and the wider community.
“Health First has developed a distribution plan that will include independent health offices, as well as all individuals over 65 years of age,” said the document. “This will likely include additional community outreach, as well as centralized geographic locations. We understand that many groups and individuals are eager to receive the vaccine, and Health First is ready when that time comes ”.
The company said it will likely run out of its current supply by Wednesday and that, due to the high use of the vaccine by the healthcare system, it will likely be given priority for new shipments.
A plan to vaccinate the public in Brevard is not yet clear. The Brevard County Emergency Management webpage on Monday afternoon simply stated that the vaccine was only available to health professionals and residents of long-term care facilities: “As more doses become available, groups will be added and information on how to receive it will be provided. Thank you for your patience. “
Officials at Melbourne Regional Medical Center, Rockledge Regional Medical Center and Parrish Medical Center said they expected to receive shipments of the vaccine by the end of last week, but did not confirm whether they had received the promised doses.
The Moderna and Pfizer vaccines proved to be about 95% effective in preventing people with symptoms of COVID-19 after the completion of the two injections. It is not known whether the vaccine will stop transmission, which means that vaccinated health workers may still be able to transmit the virus to people around them.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ latest executive order, issued on Wednesday, said Florida residents 65 and older would be first in line for the next phase of the vaccine. He was out of step with CDC guidelines, which include first responders and other essential frontline workers in the second wave.
Along with the effort to vaccinate health workers, Florida has already vaccinated residents of long-term care facilities. DeSantis’ order says:
“During this first phase of vaccine administration, all providers that administer any COVID-19 vaccine should vaccinate only the following populations: residents and employees of long-term care facilities; people aged 65 and over; and health personnel with direct contact with the patient. Hospital providers, however, can also vaccinate people they consider to be extremely vulnerable to COVID-19. “
More: Health workers begin to receive vaccines in Brevard; more doses to come, say hospitals
In the CDC’s phased timeline, phase 1a includes long-term care facility residents and healthcare professionals. Phase 1b includes people aged 75 and over and essential frontline workers in areas other than health. Phase 1c includes people over 65, people with high-risk medical conditions and essential workers outside the front line.
Phase 2 includes anyone over the age of 16. The Modern vaccine is approved for use only in adults, and the Pfizer vaccine is approved for people aged 16 and over.
Health First said on Monday afternoon that it had already vaccinated about 4,500 people.
Bailey Gallion is the business and development reporter for FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Gallion at [email protected] or 321-242-3786.