TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) – Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis pleaded with concerned seniors hoping to be vaccinated against COVID-19 amid confusion and frustration at the availability of the life-saving vaccine among some of the most vulnerable.
At the state’s vaccination sites, other older people have formed long queues, some camping overnight with garden chairs and blankets, hoping to gain immunity to fight the virus. county by the day already counted, which led the government to reject anyone else who arrived.
Older people in other parts of the state were frustrated by busy phone lines and that would no longer publish new vaccination appointments.
DeSantis has prioritized Florins over the age of 65 to be next to the state’s vaccine stocking list, now that senior physical care staff and other lifeguards come from the virus that has inflamed more than 1. 2 million Florins.
On Wednesday, Fitness reported 13,871 new cases and 139 new deaths, bringing the death toll to 21,857.
More than 82% of those who have died from the disease are over 65 years old, underlining the urgency of vaccinating older Floridans, the governor said Wednesday.
“The source of COVID-19 vaccines is still limited. Lately we don’t have enough vaccines for the four million or more seniors in the state of Florida,” the governor said at a news convention in Delray Beach. we’re going to get there, but it won’t take place overnight. Then be patient.
Amid uncertainty about how temporarily the state can get more doses of two vaccines now available, county fitness departments and state hospitals are struggling to deliver the vaccine to the elderly.
Lin Humphrey, a college professor whose 81-year-old mother lives with him in a high-rise building in Miami, said it took him about 80 phone calls to a Miami Beach hospital that started vaccinating other seniors last week. . with limited doses of vaccines.
“It reminded me of the ’80s when you had to call a radio station to be the tenth person I was calling to get tickets to a concert,” Humphrey said. “When, in spite of everything, I made it, I cried on the phone with the woman.
Early Wednesday morning, fitness officers in Lee County, where Fort Myers is located, announced that the three vaccination sites had reached their capacity until the third day to provide injections to citizens age 65 and older. recreation center and a theater to take one of the few hundred doses that were taken after the fitness government declared that appointments were not mandatory as they would be administered on a first-come, first-served basis.
The Orlando Sentinel reported that Orange County government fitness officials closed their online portal Tuesday after generating 30,000 appointments in approximately 24 hours, and Broward Health’s network of hospitals said it would avoid scheduling vaccine appointments on the same day as “due to overwhelming network demand. “”
Abdulla Benkhatar, 90, paved the way Tuesday morning at a recreation center in Fort Myers.
“We’ve been home for almost 10 months. It’s vital to me, to my health and to be able to do the things I like and get back to normal,” he told WZVN-TV.
On Tuesday, the Florida Department of Health said it had administered doses to about 175,465 in the state, the maximum of which were physical care workers, emergency lifeguards, and citizens of assisted care facilities.
Some older people started getting vaccines Monday in the first 8 counties that won their vaccine batches last week. The other 59 counties in the state are expected to soon begin receiving their percentage of vaccinations.
In Miami, Jackson Health System began giving vaccines to others over the age of 65 who receive network care. Music manufacturer Emilio Estefan, 67, and Miami Dolphins senior vice president Nat Moore, 69, won the first dose of the vaccine on Wednesday. in front of reporters at Jackson Memorial Hospital.
Jackson Health said it will launch an online platform next week so citizens can make appointments for vaccination.
Counties and hospitals have taken other approaches to how they administer the vaccine, leading to confusion, frustration, and lines.
“They will solve the problems, as they have been, ” said the governor. “If you’re 65 or older, you’ll have to. It may not be for everyone today, it probably won’t be next week. But over the next few weeks, as long as we keep getting the supply, you’ll have a chance to get it.
Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried wrote to DeSantis recommending that the Florida National Guard mobilize COVID-19 vaccines, arguing that deployment had been too slow.
“Although the state won 1,218,300 doses of vaccines, only 15% of them were administered,” he said in the letter. “The lack of preparation and progress in delivering these essential and important vaccines is inexcusable. “
___
Gomez Licon reported from Miami.