The first-come-first-served plan led to massive classes forming overnight on Tuesday as people camped out on lawn chairs and waited for hours.
Bruce Scott told CNN he’s hitting Ft. Myers vaccination site is at 1:30 a.m. and wait in line for 8 or 9 hours to get vaccinated.
He then said, “Although I am grateful to have the vaccine, I feel that there must be a better way to distribute this vaccine.” “For people who really need it, the elderly who might be disabled in some way, they can’t stand this process, so there has to be a better way to manage this.”
The long wait is a preview of what appears to be a disruptive vaccine rollout and reflects the public’s pent-up demand for vaccines as well as the logistical difficulty of administering them in an orderly manner.
Florida is one of the few states to start vaccinating people after the first wave of health care workers and long-term care facilities. The state has conducted more than 150,000 vaccines so far, more than all except Texas, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
The provinces are seeing great demand for the vaccine
Other Florida counties have attempted to set vaccination dates for those who register online or through the hotline.
Fran Lundell, 70, and her husband, Andy, 73, were among those who successfully registered and were vaccinated after waiting in their cars at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando on Tuesday.
They said they went to the county website to set an appointment as soon as it was announced. Fran gets a date quickly, but it took Andy four or five tries to get a spot.
“We think we’re lucky,” said Fran Lundell. “We thought maybe in March or April we might get it, but that’s definitely cool.”
Jim Seltzer, who was also vaccinated on Wednesday, praised the work the county did.
“I thought it was very well organized. I thought they did an excellent job,” he said. “I mean, it was a long wait, but you know, I was expecting it.”
“We are working to expand our infrastructure to deal with the high demand that we are seeing,” the site said.
And in South Florida, Broward Health said all its appointments are booked through February.
Mount Sinai Hospital in Miami Beach says they are proactively reaching out to seniors in their community to sign up for the vaccine. They have enabled more phone lines for appointments in an effort to prevent older adults from easily accessing the vaccine.
“Thus, the faster we can spread the vaccine to the population over the age of 65, I think life will return to normal. I also think young people will be more receptive to receiving the vaccine as well,” said Mount Sinai Miami Beach CEO and CEO Steve Sonenreich.
Focus on the elderly on the primary workers
A CDC advisory committee recommended that states first vaccinate frontline health care workers and people in long-term care facilities, and Florida has followed suit.
Then the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) committee recommended that countries vaccinate people older than 75 and “essential frontline workers” as first responders in “Phase 1B.” Then, in “Phase 1C,” states should vaccinate adults between the ages of 65 and 75, people between the ages of 16 and 64 who have high-risk medical conditions, and “other essential workers,” as recommended The Commission.
However, DeSantis said the state is prioritizing everyone over the age of 65, with young essential workers later.
He said, “If you are 22 years old and work in food services, let’s say in a supermarket, you would prefer a 74-year-old grandmother.” “I don’t think that’s the direction we want to go.”
Rosa Flores, Sarah Wesfelt and Denise Royal of CNN contributed to this report.
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