Florida covid vaccine distribution chaotic for residents

Dan Brady, 73, a retired health care executive in Miami, called or visited seven sites constantly: “I speed-dialed one 63 times and never got in." There are more than 450,000 people 65

and older in Miami–Dade County. “You really have to be fairly motivated if you want to do it,” says Brady, who eventually got an appointment. “You have to be vigilant and have a good

internet connection." The limited number of doses has fed the chaos. "It's like playing in a contest where you have to be the 95th caller to get the prize, and this adds to

all the anxiety that is appropriate for a global pandemic,” Johnson says. “But this is like playing the lottery to get a lifesaving shot." TOUR BUSES TO THE COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT

Courtesy Alan & Donna McIlwain Still, many older Floridians say vaccine availability is improving. Gloria Huffman, 72, says she and her husband, Dennis, 80, had no problem getting their

shots. She credits early, persistent efforts of their retirement-community managers at Cherry Laurel, in Tallahassee. "They started working on this months ago, and we were the first

facility in Leon County to get the vaccinations,” she says. “They rented tour buses and got nurses on with us and drove to the health department. Some drove their cars. We'd already

filled out the paperwork, and it was very efficient." Solivita, a community of 9,200 in Polk County, has been working on getting a drive-through clinic, so far without success.

Meanwhile, scores of residents are searching on their own. Solivita resident Donna McIlwain, 77, says she and her husband failed to visit the county site when appointments were available but

got an email alert from the development's managers, tipping her off to Orlando appointments, about an hour's drive away. The couple, using separate computers, went on at the same

time. They scored after more than nine hours of work. "I wanted to go at the same time as my husband, and he got online on his computer and made an appointment,” she says, adding that

he was working separately. Miraculously, they got appointments just an hour apart.