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COVID-19 vaccine shipments to Florida delayed by bad weather across U.S.

Publix said it is canceling a plan to open appointments Wednesday due to weather-related issues in getting vaccine doses.
 
Francisco Nara with Cowan Landscaping clears snow from a sidewalk on 21st Street near Xanthus Ave., Monday, Feb. 15, 2021, in Tulsa, Okla.
Francisco Nara with Cowan Landscaping clears snow from a sidewalk on 21st Street near Xanthus Ave., Monday, Feb. 15, 2021, in Tulsa, Okla. [ MIKE SIMONS | AP ]
Published Feb. 16, 2021|Updated Feb. 16, 2021

A winter storm that has pounded parts of the United States with frigid temperatures and icy roads is delaying shipments of COVID-19 vaccines to the Sunshine State.

About 200,000 Moderna vaccines that were expected to arrive in Florida on Tuesday are now slated to show up Thursday, according to a spokeswoman with the state’s Division of Emergency Management.

“The state has been working closely with providers and has advised they begin to plan for delays in their vaccine delivery,” spokeswoman Samantha Bequer said in an email. “This includes potentially rescheduling vaccine appointments, if necessary. We ask that providers do not cancel appointments, but rather reschedule any appointments that may be impacted by this delay.”

Publix, which is offering COVID-19 vaccine doses in many of its stores across the state, including in Tampa Bay, said it won’t schedule new appointments Wednesday because of concerns about the weather preventing government delivery of allotted vaccines.

Publix said that appointments already scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday aren’t affected. It said that, once additional doses are received, it will announce the next opportunity for people to sign up for appointments.

The weather issues are not currently affecting vaccinations in Hillsborough, said county health department spokesman Kevin Watler. The state-supported vaccine site at University Mall is using Pfizer vaccines.

Pinellas County has also been using Pfizer at all its community sites, according to Maggie Hall, a spokeswoman with the health department in Pinellas. Hall said her county only makes appointments for the number of vaccines that are on hand, so any delays should not affect appointments already made through the county’s vaccine registration website.

Related: Winter’s wrath: Bitter cold, no power and a deadly tornado

The winter storm has knocked out power for millions of people across the United States, grounded some flights and produced hazardous driving conditions and dangerously cold temperatures in states like Texas and Oklahoma.

The majority of the country saw below-freezing temperatures as the storm swept through, and multiple people have died, including in car crashes related to the wintry weather. A tornado linked to the storm killed or injured multiple people in North Carolina, according to news reports.

Florida was allocated 340,600 total first doses of vaccines this week, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Sunshine State has been allocated even more for next week: 417,430. The same amounts were set aside for second doses.

The state has largely been doling out the vaccines it gets to county health departments, state-supported vaccination sites and select Publix pharmacies, as well as to hospitals.

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The state’s allotment is separate from doses that the federal government gives directly to retailers like Walmart, Publix and Winn-Dixie as part of the Federal Retail Pharmacy program.

Related: Florida coronavirus vaccines to start at Walmart, Winn-Dixie, expand at Publix

A spokeswoman with Southeastern Grocers, the parent company of Winn-Dixie and other grocery stores, said Tuesday that the severe weather across the country has impacted the shipments of COVID-19 vaccines to its stores and urged customers to visit its websites for timely updates and to schedule appointments when doses become available.

Florida is currently focusing vaccination efforts on the state’s sizeable population of people 65 and older, frontline health care workers and residents and staff of long-term care facilities. Hospitals can also choose to vaccinate people they deem to be extremely vulnerable to COVID-19.

As of Tuesday, the state said more than 2.4 million Floridians had received at least one coronavirus vaccine shot, with about 1.1 million of those having received both required doses.

More than 1.8 million of the Floridians who have gotten at least one shot have been 65 or older, according to state data.

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