Don’t pack your bags yet, snowbirds
Re: Snowbirds lured by sun, sea, free vaccines, Jan. 8
Media suggestions that Canadian snowbirds are accessing COVID-19 vaccines in Florida — or jumping the queue — are more aspirational than true. Except for a handful of seniors’ retirement communities visited by Gov. Ron Desantis during photo ops, widespread distribution of either of the vaccines ( Pfizer or Moderna) is bogged down across the state — in most cases by the inability of applicants to register for appointments at health department websites that have been crashing since before Christmas.
The Broward County ( Fort Lauderdale) health department — the single portal available for registrations in this two-million-population area — has run the following static message since the end of December: “The Florida Department of Health in Broward County has provided 26,465 COVID-19 vaccination appointments to individuals ages 65 and over. All appointments have been filled at this time. Please check back to this website often as more sites and appointments will be added over the coming days and weeks. Thank you.”
Since Florida has some 4.5 million seniors, that is slight accomplishment. There are cases of vaccine stored in coolers throughout the state, but they’re not getting into the appropriate arms, and the experience in Broward is being replicated throughout Florida.
Media has focused on the frustration and anger of seniors who are being told that more facilities, such a pharmacies and some supermarkets, will be supplied vaccines “by about” March.
Until then government departments are unable to find means of unrolling the vaccination problem in a meaningful way. They are stumped, despite the governor’s determination to get seniors protected.
Snowbirds should know that though Florida is right now a very pleasant place to be — except for masking and social distances regulations there are few lockdown restraints — vaccine queue-jumping is a rare activity.