About 250 front-line health care staff at Jacksonville-based Baptist Health began receiving the COVID-19 vaccine Friday.
The voluntary vaccinations were offered first to physicians and other medical professionals in COVID-19 units, intensive care units and emergency centers.
Tujuana Dudley, nurse manager at a COVID-19 unit at Baptist Medical Center South, was the first in line.
"I know it’s my duty to receive the vaccine to keep those around me safe," said Dudley, who lost a family member recently to COVID-19. "From the time the pandemic first arrived in March, we’ve seen firsthand how COVID-19 can impact patients, their families and our community."
More Baptist staff will be vaccinated in the coming weeks as more vaccine supply is distributed.
"This is a historic day at Baptist Health,” said Brett McClung, president and CEO. "We are privileged to now have access to the single-most-important tool to fight COVID-19. We are so proud of our team members for their leadership in taking this vaccine. This signal of hope is a definite sign that we have reached the beginning of the end of this pandemic."
The staff who were vaccinated will continue other safety measures including wearing masks and other personal protective equipment and social distancing.
The vaccine currently being distributed was developed by Pfizer and its German partner, BioNTech, and approved for emergency use a week ago by the Food and Drug Administration. The shipments began Monday.
UF Health Jacksonville was the first area hospital to get the Pfizer vaccine and began staff shots Monday. Naval Hospital Jacksonville began vaccinations Wednesday, while Ascension St. Vincent's, Memorial Hospital and Mayo Clinic followed on Thursday.
Orange Park Medical Center expects to receive shipments within the next week of the second COVID-19 vaccine, developed by Moderna and likely to receive federal emergency authorization shortly.
Baptist has a free community COVID-19 information hotline, available 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, at (904) 302-5050. For more information, go to baptistjax.com/services/covid19.
