Winter storm delays 200,000 vaccines en route to Florida

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. A winter storm leaving icy roads, power outages and dangerously low temperatures from the southwest to the Canadian border has delayed the shipment of coronavirus vaccines to Florida, according to the state’s top emergency official.

Jared Moskowitz, the outgoing director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management, said Monday the state was told the massive weather system would delay the delivery of vaccines.

His office told News4Jax on Tuesday that 200,000 Modern vaccines that are expected to arrive on Tuesday have been delayed and are now expected to arrive on Thursday. The state still expects to receive the full allotment of vaccines for the week and is asking suppliers not to cancel appointments, but rather the appointments to be affected by the delay.

Emergency management and health officials are regularly updating to make sure the vaccines are distributed effectively upon arrival, Governor Ron DeSantis said in a tweet on Tuesday.

Weather conditions in the United States affect the shipment of the COVID-19 vaccine to Florida. @FLSERT and @GesondFla provide regular updates to our partners to ensure that the vaccine is distributed as efficiently as possible.

– Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) 16 February 2021

News4Jax was told that a shipment to Florida would be expected Monday or Tuesday or Wednesday.

Publix, which currently distributes vaccines through more than 500 pharmacies in Florida, delayed plans to schedule more appointments Wednesday morning. It is unclear whether they will be able to accept appointments during Friday’s scheduled sign-up period.

“We know the importance of administering this vaccine, and we deeply regret that we have to cancel Wednesday’s planning event,” Maria Brous, director of communications at Publix, said in a news release. “Once additional vaccine has been received, we will announce the next vaccine planning opportunity.”

Brous said the existing appointments planned for Wednesday and Thursday will not be affected.

On Friday, Publix announced that it has given 250,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine since mid-January, representing nearly 30% of the vaccines in Florida over the past 30 days.

Walmart, Winn-Dixie and Harveys stores, which began doing vaccinations in Northeast Florida earlier this month. A spokesman for Southeastern Grocers, which owns both Winn-Dixie and Harveys, said they were affected by the delay.

“Our customers will be the first to know when additional appointments are available,” said Kaley Shaffer, director of PR and community for Southeastern Grocers, which owns both Winn-Dixie and Harveys.

She invited people to visit the latest information winndixie.com/pharmacy/covid-vaccine.

Duval County Department of Health officials say there is a delay in shipping the Regency Square Mall vaccine, but they expect it to arrive soon and do not expect it to have an impact on day-to-day operations. do not have.

Baptist Health in Jacksonville said it is not certain when a load of 1,000 doses is expected to be used this week for people under 65, but is determined to be medically vulnerable.

“For example, we expect a delivery of 1,000 doses today,” said Dr. Elizabeth Ransom, Baptist’s executive vice president and chief physician, said. “The weather slowed down a bit.”

In Clay County, the head of emergency operations says they have had no delays and that their vaccination program is on schedule. The same goes for Nassau County. St. Johns County is still in control.

Icy roads from the West Coast through the Midwest and in the South shut down vaccinations in many places and push those with appointments back into the pool of those waiting. The scheme unrest could worsen, and the bad weather is expected to last for several days. Places from Oregon to Oklahoma could see a foot of new snow by the weekend.

Severe winter weather has fueled emergencies in at least seven states, including Alabama, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Texas, Oklahoma and Oregon. Even Okaloosa County, in Panhandle, Florida, closed its schools on Tuesday due to icy road conditions. Vaccinations Vaccinations in Houston and Austin is expected to be canceled again Tuesday due to severe winter weather.

Flights to and from several major airports were canceled on Monday and more cancellations are expected on Tuesday.

Limited supply of vaccines, various government plans and other points of confusion have delayed efforts to reduce doses to Americans. Statistics from the US Centers for Disease Control & Prevention on Thursday showed that just over 10% of the country – 34.7 million people – received at least one dose, and 11.2 million both received the two doses needed for both the Pfizer and Modern. vaccines.

According to the Florida Department of Health, 1,284,052 people in Florida received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine and just over 1.1 million people in the state received both shots. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Data show higher numbers for the state: that 2.3 million people received at least one dose.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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