Florida seniors continue to face problems as they try to make appointments to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
Some sites around the state have had to cancel appointments due to the high demand and low supply.
As the state grapples with the overwhelming vaccine demand, the rising infection rate and death toll, and new variants of the virus are causing further concern.
This week, more than 70,000 Floridians tested positive for the virus, while fewer people received vaccinations compared to last week.
The Florida Department of Health declined an invitation to appear on The Florida Roundup, citing the COVID-19 response’s unprecedented nature. However, several doctors from around the state joined us with their thoughts on the vaccine’s rollout, as well as how it’s been going in their regions, including:
Dr. Richard Rothman, chairman of Hospital Medicine and head of Cleveland Clinic Florida’s COVID Operations and Recovery Task Force,
Dr. Jay Wolfson, professor of Public Health, Medicine, and Pharmacy; and senior associate dean at the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine
Dr. Chad Neilsen, director of Infection Prevention and Control at UF Health Jacksonville, who is also a National Guard member.
Meanwhile, President Joe Biden has spent his first days in office signing executive orders and unveiling his national strategy to fight the virus. Before his inauguration, Biden said he would use the National Guard and Federal Emergency Management Agency to distribute vaccines.
Gov. Ron DeSantis dismissed the effort. He called using the agencies a big mistake, saying Florida didn’t need “FEMA camps” to handle vaccine distribution.
Craig Fugate is a former Federal Emergency Management Agency administrator and the former director of Florida’s Emergency Management Division. He shared his reaction to DeSantis’ comments with us.
Katherine Hobbs can be reached at newsteam@wjct.org or on Twitter at @KatherineGHobbs.
