Storm-delayed COVID-19 vaccines on the way

The state hopes storm-delayed doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine will by the end of this week, Gov. Ron DeSantis said Wednesday.

DeSantis said the “vast, vast majority” of a weekly Pfizer vaccine delivery hasn’t been delayed by bad weather across large parts of the nation, but an entire shipment of 208,000 doses from Moderna is affected by weather issues.

Mark Lander, the administrator for the Florida Department of Health in Marion County, said this week the storm delays should not impact local supplies.

“You see all the storms. You see a lot of the ice. I think some of this stuff is in Memphis or the places where they ship from,” DeSantis said while appearing at the Premier Sports Campus at Lakewood Ranch in Manatee County. “So, it’s a combination of the weather, the ice and then obviously the different logistics that result from that.”

DeSantis advised people with vaccination appointments to be patient if they are advised to wait a day or two.

“If you have an appointment, like at a Publix for Thursday and they have to delay you, that is almost assuredly why,” DeSantis said. “So, just have patience with it. There is nothing we can do with the weather in other states. We are going to get the Moderna, but it is not here when it normally would be here.”

The state received 132,000 first doses of the Pfizer vaccine this week and anticipates 9,000 more arriving by the end of the week. As the White House ramps up delivery of vaccines, Florida is expected to see a net increase of 41,000 doses starting next week. More than 2.43 million people had been vaccinated as of Feb. 15, with 1.1 million completing the vaccination series.