27 more Publix stores will give COVID-19 vaccines. South Florida still isn’t on the list
More Publix pharmacies will be able to administer COVID-19 vaccines in Florida, adding to the 22 stores in the state already scheduling appointments.
On Tuesday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced 27 more Publix pharmacies in five Panhandle counties will administer thousands of vaccines. This comes a week after Publix started its vaccine pilot program.
Publix vaccinations by appointment will begin Thursday for the new stores. Those eligible can make an appointment and see store locations at publix.com/covidvaccine.
“For 90 years, Publix has served its customers and communities in times of need,” said Publix CEO Todd Jones in a statement. “Our ability to provide these vaccinations to Florida’s 65-and-older population is a privilege. We are grateful to Governor DeSantis for his willingness to work with us to serve our communities.”
The program will now include stores in Escambia, Santa Rosa, Bay, Walton and Okaloosa in the state’s Panhandle. The Moderna COVID-19 vaccine will be given to people 65 and older in these stores.
Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties, the three Southeast Florida counties that have the most coronavirus cases in the state, have still not made it into the program. The three counties accounted for more than 560,000 of the state’s more than 1.5 million COVID-19 cases, as of Tuesday. Florida has 67 counties.
Maria Brous, Publix’s director of communications, told the Miami Herald when the program began that the company worked with DeSantis’ office in selecting the counties. Some factors important to the state were reaching populations of 65 and older and reaching more rural areas, she said.
As of Tuesday, the five Panhandle counties each had fewer than 30,000 cases and 1,000 deaths, according to the Florida Department of Health. Together, they made up 72,477 of the state’s 1,503,482 cases and 1,121 of the 23,585 deaths in Florida.
Miami-Dade, by contrast, had 331,649 confirmed cases and 4,452 deaths as of Tuesday. Broward had 143,186 cases and 1,883 deaths, while Palm Beach had 86,839 confirmed cases and 1,923 deaths.
This story was originally published January 12, 2021 at 9:15 PM with the headline "27 more Publix stores will give COVID-19 vaccines. South Florida still isn’t on the list ."
%20Cropped%20(2).jpg)