WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Doctors' offices, which largely have been left out of administering COVID-19 vaccine doses, may soon be getting the shots for their patients.
"We expect they will, as to keep with the new executive order, but I do not have a date or amount at this time," said Alex Shaw, spokesman for the Health Department in Palm Beach County.
Inside her Lantana home, Linda Zwolski looks at the photos of her 17 grandchildren every day.
"It hurts. It's like your heart breaking," Zwolski said.
That's because she hasn't seen them in person in more than a year.
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She is still trying to get a vaccine appointment and now is worried her chances are getting tougher as more groups compete with her.
"There's got to be thousands of seniors still not vaccinated. What about us?" Zwolski asked.
The 69-year-old woman said she would much prefer going to the doctor for the vaccine rather than navigating the internet for an appointment.
"It would go a lot smoother," she said.
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Doctors seem to agree with that assessment.
"It's been hugely frustrating for primary care providers to watch as the vaccine goes to Publix or to all these other places," infectious disease specialist Dr. David Dodson said.
He said so far physicians like him have been left out of the COVID-19 vaccine supply. Efforts have gone toward large-scale vaccinations for seniors, which have so far reached 2.3 million seniors in the state.
"The primary care doctors' offices ... that’s a built-in vaccine distribution system. We're ready, willing and able. We do it all the time. Our patients would like to be vaccinated in their doctors' offices, not have to wait in a line somewhere," Dodson said.
Zwolski said the vaccine is not available at her doctor's office, leaving her to keep trying online and hoping for a little luck.
"Anything to see my family and be with my family," she said.
