Many Floridians seeking the COVID shot are still struggling to get it.
“It's been a little stressful. I don't know when I'll be able to do it,” a Tampa woman recently told us. A few weeks later, she’s still hunting for the vaccine.
WATCH: Many Floridians struggling to find vaccine
Stephen Sanford of Venice has also been searching for the shot. His husband suffers from severe lung disease. Sanford said it’s gotten to the point where they are now talking about traveling to another state just to get the boost.
“Yes, of course! I don't need to have my husband die on me from not being able to get a vaccine,” he said.
Local pharmacies are also finding themselves in a COVID vaccine bind.
The Health Matters Pharmacy in Tampa is waiting for its supply of COVID vaccines but isn’t sure it will ever arrive.
“It’s very frustrating,” said Tiara Ross, a nurse practitioner there. “We want to get people vaccinated as early and as quickly as possible, but these barriers are going to make it a little bit more difficult."
The Food and Drug Administration recently approved updated COVID-19 vaccines, but with limits. The shots are currently limited to people at least 65 years old and those younger with certain health conditions and a prescription from their doctor.
The restricted new rules have prompted a wave of confusion among medical professionals and pharmacies, with some of Florida’s most popular drugstores holding off on offering the shot.
At Publix, the COVID-19 vaccine is “currently not available” in Florida, according to its website.
Same with Walgreens, where the chain is waiting for the official recommendation from the CDC before offering the shot to Floridians.
On Friday, the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunizations will vote on who can get the COVID shot and if insurance will pay for it. The vaccine is the only agenda item for advisory council to discuss on Friday with a final vote expected in the afternoon.
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The meeting is expected to be controversial given the influence of U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr., a staunch vaccine critic.
While states can set their own rules, Florida’s Department of Health appears to be deliberately evasive about the topic. The agency has refused to provide any clarity despite weeks of our emails seeking answers.
But in a podcast over the weekend, controversial Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo, a vocal critic of the COVID-19 vaccine, announced his hope to shut it down in Florida.
“The MRNA, the goal for that is not to be available to anyone because no one should be using that one,” he said during the podcast.
Despite all the uncertainty, some Floridians have been successful in getting the shot.
“I feel lucky,” said Mark Lebow of Port Charlotte.
Lebow is over 65 years old and has Stage 4 pancreatic cancer. He recently got the booster at a CVS in Venice but had to wait until he had a prescription from his doctor.
“I think she wanted the prescription just because she's afraid of corporate backlash, or something like that,” he said.
A vaccine that was once encouraged and available to all, now up in the air and fueling some concerns in Florida that it will become out of reach.