Orange County

Orange County prepping for storage, disbursement of future COVID-19 vaccine

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Orange County reached a milestone in the coronavirus pandemic on Thursday hitting 50,000 total cases of the virus in the county since the pandemic began.

The milestone comes as the county gets ready to store and distribute a future vaccine for the virus.

READ: AdventHealth seeking volunteers for COVID-19 vaccine trial in Central Florida

“Coronavirus

Orange County officials spent $67,000 to purchase a refrigerator, freezer and an ultra coldfreezer in preparation to store 15,000 doses of the vaccine once it becomes available.

“When it comes time to give the vaccines out, our health services wanted to be prepared and we wanted to serve as a model really for how to go about doing that really by working with different partnerships within the community,” Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings said.

READ: Coronavirus: CDC issues updated guidelines for small gatherings ahead of Thanksgiving

County and health leaders are also working on a plan for who will get the vaccine first once it’s available. Right now they’re leaning toward health officials, first responders and the elderly.

Sarah Wilson

Sarah Wilson, WFTV.com

Sarah Wilson joined WFTV Channel 9 in 2018 as a digital producer after working as an award-winning newspaper reporter for nearly a decade in various communities across Central Florida.