UF Health begins administering COVID-19 vaccines in Gainesville
UF Health Shands Hospital gave 12 frontline workers vaccines Wednesday December 16, 2020 | 2:10pm EST
Samuel Overly, a UF Health clinical leader, is the first to get the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at UF Health Shands Cancer Hospital on Dec. 16, 2020. Suzy Wise administered the anticipated shot. Photo by Julia Coin | The Independent Florida Alligator
Dr. Joseph A. Tyndall was one of the first in Gainesville to get the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine Wednesday morning.
He said it didn’t hurt.
UF Health Shands Hospital administered its first 12 vaccines from UF Health Jacksonville at a news conference early Wednesday morning. Tyndall, chair of emergency medicine a
The first eight Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines in Gainesville were administered to UF Health hospital staff at a press conference this morning shortly after 8.
Sam Overly, a registered nurse and critical care clinic leader, and Dr. Joseph Adrian Tyndall, interim dean of the UF College of Medicine, were the first two to receive the shots. Applause filled the meeting room after each masked employee finished. Being here and getting this vaccine is a ray of hope that we can end the suffering, Tyndall said.
Overly added: I think it s a step toward getting back to some kind of normal.
All hospital employees who want the shot are expected to be vaccinated in the next two months, according to Dr. Parker Gibbs, chief medical officer. It is not required but strongly encouraged.