Data shows top vaccination rates

A majority of seniors in these parts of Palm Beach County have been inoculated

Wealthy areas of Palm Beach County have more fully vaccinated their residents while certain cities in lower-income areas have lagged behind, according to new county data.

Four ZIP codes have vaccinated over 85% of residents 65 or older — most in the southwestern portion of the county. The sections of Boca Raton, Delray Beach and Boynton Beach by Florida’s Turnpike have seen higher vaccination rates, likely due to individual pop-up sites at two of its elderly, gated communities — Kings Point and Century Village.

The only other ZIP code to log an 85% or higher vaccination rate is the wealthy, northeast portion of Palm Beach County by the ocean, which includes Jupiter, Jupiter Island Colony and Tequesta.

The pattern emerged Wednesday when the county released a colorcoded map detailing the percentage of people 65 and older vaccinated against COVID-19 in each ZIP code.

The South Florida Sun Sentinel has requested similar data from Broward and Miami-Dade counties,

but the agencies haven’t provided it.

The release comes after repeated inquiries by Palm Beach County commissioners, led by Melissa McKinlay, to give a detailed breakdown of where the vaccines are going.

The data shows the share of people who received vaccinations in each particular ZIP code, meaning that people who live in different areas, but traveled to receive their shot in that ZIP code, would be counted toward that figure.

Certain ZIP codes in Palm Beach Gardens, Palm Beach and the western portion of West Palm Beach all produced a vaccination rate of over 70%.

Parts of central Palm Beach County haven’t had an equal percentage of vaccinations, specifically in Lake Worth Beach and Greenacres. The two cities both had the lowest vaccination rates, logging figures between 25% and 40%, according to the map. Areas in Lake Park and north West Palm Beach also had similar rates.

“Obviously there’s a robust need for the vaccinations, and there’s a robust desire and we’ve seen that desire uptick over time as we’ve seen people become more comfortable with getting the vaccination,” Palm Beach County Mayor Dave Kerner said. “[The map] shows we still have work to do.”

Kerner said the county has worked with federal authorities to “make sure our rural communities have access to vaccination sites within their communities.”

In order for vaccines to be properly distributed to their intended populations, he asked for residents to “respect those boundaries and let those rural sites serve the needs of those communities. If you’re going to get vaccinated, go somewhere that’s close to where you live. That way we protect access to the rural communities in our county.”

“[The map] shows we still have work to do.”

— Palm Beach County Mayor Dave Kerner

JOHN MCCALL/SOUTH FLORIDA SUN SENTINEL Four ZIP codes in Palm Beach County have vaccinated over 85% of its residents who are 65 or older.