Linda Kleindienst Bruns registered for a coronavirus vaccine in late December, on the first day the health department in Tallahassee, Fla., opened for applications for people her age. Despite being 72, with her immune system suppressed by medication that keeps her breast cancer in remission, she spent days waiting to hear back about an appointment.
“It’s so disorganized,” she said. “I was hoping the system would be set up so there would be some sort of logic to it.”
Phyllis Humphreys, 76, waited with her husband last week in a line of cars in Clermont, west of Orlando, that spilled onto Highway 27. They had scrambled into their car and driven 22 miles after receiving an automated text message saying vaccine doses were available. But by 9:43 a.m., the site had reached capacity and the Humphreys went home with no shots.
“We’re talking about vaccinations,” said Ms. Humphreys, a retired critical care nurse. “We are not talking about putting people in Desert Storm.”
In Florida, people 65 and older, whom the state has prioritized to get vaccinated against Covid-19, have clamored to get it — only to find a fragmented and confusing health care system overwhelmed by demand. https://t.co/lhQ3F1z4sA
— The New York Times (@nytimes) January 10, 2021