‘Extremely vulnerable’ people can take injections of COVID-19 at federal vaccination sites

JACKSONVILLE, Florida. – Florida’s top agency dealing with the coronavirus pandemic said on Wednesday that people considered “extremely vulnerable” to COVID-19 can be vaccinated at the four federal vaccination sites in the state.

According to the Florida Emergency Management Division, anyone considered “extremely vulnerable” needs their doctor to complete and sign a form on the Florida Department of Health website confirming their health status.

The clarification came after Governor Ron Desantis signed an executive order on Friday that allows people deemed “extremely vulnerable” to COVID-19 to have injections at any vaccine clinic with a doctor, registered nurse or pharmacist on site. .

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This opened the door for retail pharmacies like Publix and Walmart to make appointments also for “extremely vulnerable” people. Publix has already started making appointments for the new eligible group, according to a company spokesman.

But many are still confused about where to go, and some said they were refused, even after bringing in the proper paperwork.

Robert Pumphrey, 60, has five stents in his heart and part of his lung is missing. On Wednesday, his doctor signed the state Department of Health form confirming that Pumphrey was “extremely vulnerable” to COVID-19. But when Pumphrey showed up to be vaccinated at the federally run site at the Gateway Mall in Jacksonville, he was turned down.

“They told me that they were not giving them because there was no doctor here to give them,” he said.

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Pumphrey said the workers told him there would be a doctor there on Thursday. He planned to return.

Carol Bagmon said she made an appointment for her 62-year-old mother, who has asthma, for Wednesday morning at Middleburg Walmart. They came armed with a medical certificate confirming their mother’s state of health, but said they were told by officials that they were not advised to vaccinate people under the age of 65 with underlying health problems.

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A spokesman for the state’s Emergency Management Division told News4Jax that the new policy allowing “extremely vulnerable” people to be shot at federal locations was implemented on Wednesday morning.

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“As of this afternoon, appropriate medical personnel have been deployed at the sites and are able to vaccinate these individuals,” said the spokesman on Wednesday.

On a tweet wednesday, the agency said people who had forms signed by their doctors to obtain the COVID-19 vaccine were eligible to receive vaccines at federal centers.

“Federal sites in Tampa, Miami, Orlando and Jacksonville CAN vaccinate individuals considered extremely vulnerable by a doctor,” said the tweet.

Unlike the federal site at Gateway Mall, state health officials said the state vaccination site at Regency Square Mall in Jacksonville will not giving injections to clinically vulnerable people under the age of 65 because there is no doctor, APRN or pharmacist on the premises.

Two doctors News4Jax spoke to said they did not receive the memo and sent some of their patients to the wrong website.

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Dr. Hannah Arn is a doctor at Ascension St. Vincent’s in Riverside.

“There was no information for us as doctors or for them as patients,” said Arn. “My father is a vulnerable patient. He asked his pulmonologist to fill out the form. He had an appointment scheduled, went to Regency and they rejected him. “

Dr. Danielle Carter, who also works at St. Vincent’s, thought her clinically vulnerable patients could be vaccinated at Regency.

“Unfortunately, I personally sent patients where I thought they could go to the mass vaccination site today with a correct letter, and they were unable to receive the vaccine because they did not have the right staff in place,” said Carter.

Publix, which is now administering COVID-19 vaccines in all of its locations, said that clinically vulnerable people can now make appointments.

According to a Walmart spokesman, the company is “in the process of updating our internal processes and scheduling system to reflect the new eligibility”.

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