PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — Shipment delays of the COVID-19 vaccine have thousands of Floridians who are eager to make appointments at a standstill.
Retail pharmacies say at this time they do not have any updates on when they’ll receive more supplies of the vaccine.
Meanwhile, a new vaccine site operated by the Health Care District of Palm Beach County is set to open in Palm Beach Gardens on Wednesday.
"It's so frustrating. When you got on today, it said, we’ll let you know when we’re going to get it. So that’s frustrating," said Barbara Carone
Carone is talking about the Publix COVID-19 vaccine website, which she was checking every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday to make appointments.
But for the last week, delays in vaccine shipments due to weather conditions have spread the impact to other retail pharmacies.
"I was shocked today. They didn’t even put a date. They just put down that because of the weather they’re not going to have, you know, they’ll let us know," Carone said.
The websites for Walmart and Sam's Club say they are contacting patients whose appointments have been impacted.
Publix has not been able to schedule any appointments after Thursday of last week, and Southeastern Grocers says Winn-Dixie stores still don’t have an update on when they’ll get vaccine shipments.
Carone was lucky the Health Care District of Palm Beach County has received Moderna vaccines for first-dose appointments this week. She’ll be getting her vaccine on Wednesday when the new site at the Burns Road Community Center opens.
"I’ve stayed on hours on Publix site and, you know, I feel bad for somebody older than myself," Carone.
The Health Care District expects to receive another shipment for scheduling appointments for next week, and scheduling is still on track at its vaccination sites, including the South Florida Fairgrounds.
The Florida Department of Health in Palm Beach County received a shipment of vaccines on Friday and distributed doses. Any unfilled appointments were rescheduled for this week.