Latest order creates confusion
DeSantis’ update leaves many medically vulnerable people still facing uncertainty
The latest executive order from Gov. Ron DeSantis added a new layer of confusion Monday for “extremely vulnerable” Floridians under 65 hoping to get the COVID19 vaccine: A doctor’s note isn’t enough.
Instead, the order states, the doctor must certify that the patient meets “defined eligibility criteria” from the Florida Department
of Health that have not yet been made public. Just days earlier, DeSantis’ previous order on the subject, which allowed pharmacies and doctors to begin immunizing medically vulnerable people, made no mention of further eligibility requirements.
Monday’s order came after some
Central Floridians said they had already made appointments to be vaccinated, thinking they’d need only their doctor’s OK.
“This is what’s really frustrating,” said state Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith, D-Orlando, who has been advocating for vulnerable
Floridians to have a chance to be vaccinated. “What’s the criteria? This comes without an explanation. And all I’ve been doing is trying to explain to constituents and vulnerable Floridians what this means . ... Apparently, the Department of Health is drawing up the criteria even as we speak.”
Late Friday, DeSantis quietly issued an executive order allowing adults deemed “extremely vulnerable” by their physicians to be vaccinated by doctors, pharmacists and advanced nurse practitioners. Previously, such patients could only be vaccinated through hospitals, which had limited vaccine supply.
But the Friday night order said only that the under-65 group needed to be determined by a physician to be extremely vulnerable.
The order on Monday — which also opened vaccinations to teachers, fire fighters and law-enforcement personnel 50 and older — added new language for the medically vulnerable, saying, “such physician determinations shall include a statement that the patient meets the defined eligibility criteria established by a form prescribed by the Florida Department of Health.”
Neither the governor’s office nor the Florida Department of Health responded to requests for clarification.
The order says the provision takes effect Wednesday.
Heather Barnes, executive director of the Down Syndrome Association of Central Florida, applauded the governor’s decision to expand vaccination opportunities but said it also left unanswered questions.
“I would say our families are extremely pleased that the governor has updated priority categories,” she said. “But there’s still confusion over what documentation is needed. … Folks have unanimously decided they’re going to grab an appointment and just hope that it works out.”
Following research showing that people with Down syndrome are 10 times more likely to die if infected by the coronavirus, their families and other residents with high-risk conditions have been clamoring to learn when they would become eligible for vaccination. For two months, DeSantis had mostly held steadfast to his “seniors first” approach.
Melissa Kantrowitz of Oviedo, whose 18-year-old son has Down syndrome, had been hoping for weeks to get him a vaccination appointment.
“This was a huge concern of ours because he is at higher risk,” she said. “And he is back at school because this is his senior year, and I didn’t want him to miss out.”
After her husband read in the newspaper that DeSantis’ Friday night order would mean retail pharmacies could offer the vaccine to the medically vulnerable, he went to the Publix vaccine appointment site first thing Monday and was able to book an appointment.
“I told my wife, ‘I can’t believe we did it,’ ” Alan Kantrowitz said. “It feels like a little bit of blind luck.”
But other families reported that some retail pharmacies still wouldn’t book appointments for anyone under 65. And others said they made an appointment but then received a phone call saying they were ineligible.
Neither Publix nor Southeastern Grocers, the parent company of Winn-Dixie, responded Monday to questions about how they are implementing the new executive orders.
They are likely to encounter a massive new wave of demand.
Atif Fareed, executive director of the Longwood-based American Muslim Social Services, said he is already lining up advanced nurse practitioners to administer vaccinations to the medically vulnerable when more vaccine is available. The nonprofit has partnered with Seminole County to host vaccination clinics on each of the past three Saturdays. Each time, he said, people under 65 with extreme risk factors show up pleading for a shot.
“We were so sad that we had to turn them away because our hands were tied,” he said. “We tried to give them resources. We know the hospitals have a [waiting] list of people at higher risk, but they have been inundated. The demand obviously far exceeds the supply.”
Last month, Orlando Health issued a statement saying its definition of “extremely vulnerable” included not only people with Down syndrome but also those with cancer, chronic kidney disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, coronary artery disease, cardiomyopathy, solid organ transplant patients, obesity, pregnancy, a history of smoking and Type 2 diabetes. People with a host of other conditions — from asthma to high blood pressure to liver disease — “might be at an increased risk,” the hospital said.
It’s not known if the state criteria will be similar.
Meanwhile, Smith said any delay in the vaccination of medically vulnerable Floridians could allow time for them to become infected.
“This has potentially deadly consequences,” he said. “Form or no form, I would tell folks who are medically vulnerable and younger than 65 to continue booking with pharmacies where they can and just come in with a doctor’s note. … My expectation is that pharmacists are not going to be turning away vulnerable Floridians for not having these documents that have been hastily drafted by the state at the 11th hour.”