Palm Beach County seniors may be waiting months for COVID-19 vaccination

As COVD-19 cases once again spike, it may be months before Palm Beach County Seniors can get vaccinated. According to the Sun Sentinel, residents of one 55+ community waited for hours to get their first vaccination, and the Broward County Mayor was quoted as saying that there may not be enough vaccines for all senior citizens for several months.

According to Executive Order 20-315, signed by Governor DeSantis, only long-term care facility residents and staff, persons 65 years of age and older, health care personnel with direct patient contact, and persons deemed to be extremely vulnerable to COVID-19 by hospital providers are currently eligible to receive the vaccination. 

According to DeSantis’ vaccine distribution plan, senior citizens fall third on the list of distribution priority, after residents of long-term care facilities and healthcare workers. Florida received 179,400 doses of the Pfizer vaccine in the first shipment, and 367,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine in the second shipment, and as of Monday 15,172 residents of Palm Beach County had received the first dose out of the two required. 

The process to sign up for a vaccine can be difficult too, as it is different from county to county, and the decision to vaccinate seniors in the top priority group instead of the second priority group as other states have done has led to problems in a system that was not ready to handle the demand, as seniors across Palm Beach County wait in line for a vaccine. 

As of right now the Florida Department of Health’s webpage for Palm Beach county residents looking to schedule a COVID-19 vaccination is currently “full and closed” as they transition to a new system. Appointments for a vaccine can be requested using this email (chd50feedback@flhealth.gov), and interested individuals should follow this link to ensure they include all the required information.