Massive storm delays vaccine deliveries
South Florida seniors are facing a slowdown in their ability to get their COVID19 vaccine, thanks to the winter storm stretching across the country.
Publix canceled Wednesday’s scheduling event in Florida for vaccinations at the nearly 600 pharmacies where the shots are distributed in its stores.
The short-term delays affect other South Florida vaccination sites, too.
Florida’s Division of Emergency Management said weather conditions across the United States impacted COVID19 vaccine shipments to Florida. About 200,000 Moderna vaccines that were expected to arrive Tuesday were delayed and are expected to arrive on Thursday, said Samantha Bequer, press secretary for the Florida Division of Emergency Management.
Bequer said the state has been working closely with providers and has advised them to plan for delays in their vaccine delivery. This includes potentially rescheduling vaccine appointments, if necessary.
“We ask that providers do not cancel appointments, but rather reschedule any appointments that may be impacted by this delay,” she said.
“The state remains in constant contact with providers as we continue to monitor these shipments,” she said. “We will provide updates as they become available.”
Publix has three scheduling events per week, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. On Monday, Publix booked 16,000 appointments for seniors across the state, which will occur as scheduled, although Wednesday’s scheduling event is canceled. Publix said vaccine appointments already set for Wednesday and Thursday are not impacted.
“We know how important administering this vaccine is, so we deeply regret the need to cancel Wednesday’s scheduling event,” Publix Director of Communications Maria Brous said in a written statement. “Once additional vaccine is received, we will announce the next opportunity for vaccine appointment scheduling,”
Winn Dixie said like other retailers, severe weather conditions are impacting shipments of the COVID19 vaccine to its pharmacies. Inventory is delayed, but those who already have appointments will get their shots, the grocer said. Customers can keep checking the website but will be unable to make future appointments at this time.
“Our customers will be the first to know through the website when additional appointments are available,” a spokeswoman said. In Florida, 43 Southeastern Grocer stores — which owns Winn Dixie — are providing vaccines.
The Department of Health in Palm Beach County said 4,500 doses of the Moderna COVID vaccine it was scheduled to receive were delayed due to the snowstorm. But 975 doses of the Pfizer vaccine were delivered on Monday as expected and transferred to the Health Care District of Palm Beach County to distribute to seniors.
Palm Beach County’s independent Health Care District said it won’t be able to administer first shots of the Moderna vaccine until shipments resume, according to Robin Kish, a spokesperson for the district. Second-dose appointments are proceeding as scheduled, she said.
The Department of Health in Broward said its community sites give out the Pfizer COVID vaccine and continues to give out shots. A local health department spokesperson said its six sites continue to vaccinate and have not been affected by shipment delays.
Broward Health, which operates a large-scale vaccination site at Inter Miami CF Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, said it received 5,000 doses last week.
“We primarily give out Pfizer and a limited amount of Moderna,” said Broward Health spokeswoman Jennifer Smith. “We are scheduled to receive more shots of Moderna and our site continues to vaccinate. There is no change in operations for us this week.”
Miami-Dade said shipment delays will affect vaccination at the county-run sites such Zoo Miami and Miami Dade College North Campus. Miami-Dade spokeswoman Rachel Johnson said the delay will affect about 2,000 people getting their second doses of the Pfizer vaccine beginning on Thursday.
As many as 2.38 million people in Florida have been vaccinated as of Tuesday, according to the Florida Department of Health. More than 1.1 million have received their second dose.
The delayed arrival of expected shipments of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccines is affecting distribution across the country with some large-scale sites in states like California and Texas now limited to second-dose appointments only.
On Tuesday, Moderna provided a vaccine supply update, saying in addition to storm disruptions, short-term delays in the final stages of production have held up the release of some doses. “These delays are expected to be resolved in the near term and are not expected to impact monthly targets,” the vaccine manufacturer said.
Despite these delays, Moderna said it will deliver 100 million doses by the end of March and has moved forward delivery of another 100 million doses by one month, from the end of June to the end of May. It also has moved forward delivery of another 100 million doses by two months, from the end of September to the end of July.
“These commitments reflect a ramping up of production over the last few months and an expectation of further ramp up over the coming months,” Moderna officials said.