“The state does not dictate to hospitals,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis told Rosa Flores, CNN, on Monday. “These guys are much more capable of providing health care services than a state government could ever be.”
Although Florida does have a structure to determine the priority groups that need to be vaccinated, it is the health care facility that needs to organize to get vaccinations for patients. Some hospitals have forgotten a registration system and instead have a first-come-first-served strategy to administer vaccines distributed by the state, DeSantis said. Demand is high among the elderly, who are among those most at risk for serious Covid-19 diseases.
The elderly make up a significant portion of the population: more than 3.2 million of the 18.8 million Florida residents are over 65, according to the 2010 U.S. Census.
Florida Emergency Management Director Jared Moskowitz said in a question-and-answer session on Wednesday that the state is working to address the changing appointment system across counties, especially to serve seniors who cannot wait in long lines not, CNFT subsidiary WFTV.
According to Tuesday, about 19 million doses were distributed nationally and 4.8 million were administered, according to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention. Florida is one of twelve states that have administered less than a quarter of their vaccines. More than 329,000 people have been vaccinated in the state since Tuesday, the state said.
Dramatic scenes
The random deployment led to dramatic scenes in the state. On Monday night, Daytona Beach officials announced that the first 1,000 people eligible for Tuesday vaccinations would be allowed to park and wait overnight at Daytona Stadium to ease traffic and roadblocks.
The announcement comes after the line began forming 12 hours before the first shot was due to take place on Tuesday, according to WFTV. On Monday morning, all 1,000 people assigned to receive the vaccine for the day were at the location at 6:30 a.m., half an hour before the site would open, the office said.
“Oh, I want the vaccine more than anything,” Daytona Beach Shores resident Deborah Boyd told WFTV. “Honestly, I would have shot in with a helicopter to get the vaccine and I’m willing to wait as long as it takes. I can no longer live like that.”
The city reached capacity more than two hours before it opened for vaccinations, the city announced on Facebook.
In South Florida, Broward Health said last week that all of its appointments had been booked until February.
Although the recognition of vaccine deployment was not perfect, DeSantis said Florida is the ‘better approach’.
Most states first vaccinate health care workers and long-term care patients, but Florida has expanded the range of doses.
“If you have a 73-year-old parent, a 73-year-old grandparent, in the vast majority of states in this country, they cannot be vaccinated. We do not believe it is right. We believe that elderly people put first, ‘he said.
DeSantis did warn hospitals to increase their administration rate, adding that some facilities perform better than others.
“We want you to use the vaccine. If you do not use it, we will make sure that additional grants are reduced and then expanded in places where they utilize it well,” DeSantis said.
Florida has announced the opening of new Covid-19 vaccination sites to help vaccinate in demand for the elderly. DeSantis has announced that the Hardrock Stadium in Miami Gardens will serve 1,000 people a day, and Publix Supermarkets will use 15,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine to launch a trial vaccine program in 22 stores.
CNN’s Denise Royal and Rosa Flores contributed to this report.
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