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This week, Central Florida got its first 20,000 doses of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine. Doctors and nurses on the front lines fighting the pandemic are also the first to receive the vaccine in Florida. 

On this episode of Intersection, host Matthew Peddie talks with WMFE health reporter Abe Aboraya about the science, logistics and the PR campaign behind the massive vaccination effort getting underway.

A mysterious, deadly disease spreading like wildfire; fear and speculation about its origins and how to treat it; and swirling misinformation and mistrust of the authorities. Sounds a lot the coronavirus pandemic but in this case it was the bubonic plague that swept through Europe in the Middle Ages. Rollins College English professor Jana Mathews joins the program to talk about how our response to this pandemic resonates with the literary records of past plagues.  

And– zoom and other online tech helped performers get through the summer. But nothing beats singing live in front of an audience. Opera Orlando executive director Gabriel Preisser talks about the opera’s return to the stage tonight at the Dr Phillips Center for the Performing Arts.