For Monroe County, the vaccine is Moderna. As of Jan. 18, almost 4,000 have been vaccinated, but only about 400 of those have had both doses of the vaccine. Those numbers are reported by the state Health Department on a dashboard and updated daily. Patients who have received one dose are guaranteed the second.
Monroe County officials are notified weekly regarding how many doses they have to distribute (see opposite page). Previously, the top health official in the Keys said the vaccines that did arrive came without notice.
In the U.S., two COVID-19 vaccines have been approved for distribution — Pfizer and Moderna. Both use “messenger RNA” which is different from traditional vaccines, which often use a weakened or dead version of a virus. The mRNA vaccines use a snippet of the COVID-19 virus that instructs the body to build copies of the spike protein on the virus’ surface. The human body creates antibodies that are ready to fight when confronted with an actual infection.
Besides Moderna and Pfizer, there are three other pharmaceutical companies conducting large clinical trials: AstraZeneca, Janssen and Novavax.
In the U.S., vaccine doses were purchased by the federal government and given at no cost. However, some providers charge an administration fee to inject citizens. According to the CDC, no one will be denied a vaccine if they are unable to pay the vaccine administration fee.
Here’s more information about the two vaccines:
