Winter storm delays 200,000 vaccines for Florida

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

Jared Moskowitz, the outgoing director of the Florida Emergency Management Division, said on Monday that the state was informed that the massive weather system will delay the delivery of vaccines.

His office told News4Jax on Tuesday that 200,000 modern vaccines expected to arrive on Tuesday have been postponed and are now expected to arrive on Thursday. The state still hopes to receive the full distribution of vaccines for the week and is asking providers not to cancel appointments, but to reschedule any appointments that were impacted by the delay.

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Health and emergency management officials are providing regular updates to ensure vaccines are delivered efficiently when they arrive, Governor Ron DeSantis said in a tweet on Tuesday.

News4Jax has been informed that a shipment to Florida expected on Monday may arrive on Tuesday or Wednesday.

Publix, which currently distributes vaccines through more than 500 of its pharmacies in Florida, delayed plans to schedule more appointments on Wednesday morning. It is unclear whether they will be able to accept appointments during Friday’s planned enrollment period.

“We know the importance of administering this vaccine, so we deeply regret the need to cancel Wednesday’s scheduling event,” said Publix communications director Maria Brous in a press release. “As soon as the additional vaccine is received, we will announce the next opportunity for scheduling the vaccination.”

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Brous said that existing appointments scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday will not be affected.

On Friday, Publix announced it had given 250,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine since mid-January, which represents almost 30% of vaccines administered in Florida in the past 30 days.

Walmart, Winn-Dixie and Harveys stores, which started giving vaccines in northeastern Florida counties earlier this month. A spokesman for Southeastern Grocers, which owns Winn-Dixie and Harveys, said they were affected by the delay.

“Our customers will be the first to know when additional appointments will be available,” said Kaley Shaffer, director of public relations and community at Southeastern Grocers, owner of Winn-Dixie and Harveys.

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

Duval County health department officials said there was a delay in boarding on Monday to the vaccination site at the Regency Square Mall, but they expect it to arrive soon and do not anticipate an impact on their daily operations.

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Baptist Health in Jacksonville said it is not certain when a loading of 1,000 doses expected this week for use by people under 65 years of age, but determined to be clinically vulnerable.

“So we are predicting, for example, loading 1,000 doses today,” said Dr. Elizabeth Ransom, Baptist’s executive vice president and chief physician. “It was a little late due to the weather.”

In Clay County, the head of emergency operations says there have been no delays and that his vaccination program is correct. The same goes for Nassau County. St. Johns County is still checking.