MIAMI (WSVN) - Officials rolling out COVID-19 vaccines are dealing with another distribution hurdle in Florida and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis says Mother Nature is to blame.
Over the next couple of days, getting some COVID-19 vaccines to Florida may become a problem due to the winter weather the rest of the nation is facing.
Meanwhile, Jackson Health System said they’re looking into expanding who can receive a shot at prevention, like people 55 and older with underlying medical conditions who aren’t already patients.
Although nothing is set in stone, a representative for the hospital system told 7News they’re working with state and local leaders to figure out what that would look like and how to provide the shots safely and fairly.
“There have been some studies that are pointing into a very favorable direction,” said Dr. Anthony Fauci. “It will have a very important impact on the dynamics of the outbreak in our country.”
Dr. Fauci continues to push for Americans to get their vaccine when it’s their turn for the shot.
He said new studies show the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines do more than protect your body.
It appears they also help prevent vaccinated people from spreading COVID-19.
“Deaths decline by 0.6% to an average of 3,076 deaths per day from Feb. 9 to Feb. 15,” said Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky.
This good news comes as cases of the virus continue to drop and vaccine production ramps up.
“We’re doubling the weekly vaccine supply to local pharmacies from 1 million to 2 million doses,” said White House COVID-19 coordinator Jeff Zients.
But Some Florida lawmakers are concerned variants of the virus will make things worse.
“While cases are down and the seven-day rolling average in deaths is going down daily, COVID fatalities are still alarmingly high,” said Florida Democratic Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Shultz.
On Wednesday, the state reported 7,300 new cases of the virus and a positivity rate of 6.4%.
In Fort Lauderdale, Tuesday’s thunderstorms hindered vaccine efforts.
Anyone who wasn’t able to get their scheduled vaccination can go back during the next three days to fulfill their original appointment.
The governor said the winter storms walloping the rest of the nation will also slow down vaccine shipments.
“The Moderna though, that entire shipment is still yet to come,” said DeSantis. “We think it’s going to come hopefully by Thursday or Friday. Normally we would have all the Moderna [vaccines] by Tuesday or Wednesday of each week. What’s happened is, you see all the storms, you see a lot of the ice, I think some of this stuff is just in Memphis or the places where they ship from.”
In the meantime, the National Retail Pharmacy Program is still going strong and the COVID-19 response team said they will be doubling those vaccinations in a short time.
In Miami, the mobile vaccinations carry on.
Seniors at one living facility in Little Havana got their second dose.
“I’ll probably go out a little bit more but not too much. I’m still going to be careful,” said vaccine recipient Julio Bruna.
The White House said about 1.7 million people a day are receiving a shot of the COVID-19 vaccine.
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