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Sarasota Memorial Hospital staff rejoice after receiving their first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine

Posted at 5:12 PM, Dec 24, 2020
and last updated 2020-12-24 17:12:13-05

SARASOTA, Fla. — It's been an emotional and heartbreaking 10 months for Sarasota Memorial Hospital healthcare workers.

Back on March 2, the first COVID-19 case in the state was at Doctor's Hospital in Sarasota.

Now after being one of the first communities with the deadly virus, healthcare staff say it's a dream come true to have a vaccine delivered.

"All I want for Christmas is a vaccine and I want everybody else to get their vaccine too," said Anne Dowd, an SMH nurse practitioner.

"This is the light that everybody has been looking for I think it’s kind of interesting how this happened the day after the winter solstice. Right after our darkest day is behind us, now we can see the light moving forward in front of us," said Jamie Kisgen, an SMH pharmacy manager.

SMH received nearly 10,000 doses of the COVID-19 Moderna vaccine on Tuesday and their goal is to vaccinate approximately 575 staff members and physicians per day over the next few weeks.

Doctors Hospital of Sarasota will receive and start administering their first vaccine shipments on Thursday.