MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – Baptist Health has canceled first-dose appointments for seniors to receive the COVID-19 vaccine for the foreseeable future due to a shortage in supply.
The announcement comes after Sen. Rick Scott tweeted that Florida stands to get an additional 266,000 doses.
“We have not received an allocation of first dose vaccines for this week and beyond, and the timing of any subsequent deliveries remains unclear,” a spokesperson from the health system said.
Local 10 News spoke to many people who are frustrated and are now making new plans.
“(It’s) very distressing,” Cristian Balharry said.
Balharry, who said he’s 66 with underlying health conditions, finally scored a vaccine appointment with Baptist Health online earlier this month.
“And I work outside my home, so I thought it was extremely important for my wife and me to get the vaccination as soon as possible,” he said.
But on Tuesday afternoon, he received an email stating that his appointment had been canceled, as are all new appointments for Jan. 20 and later.
On Wednesday, Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava told Local 10 News that she understands it’s frustrating for those who were hoping to be vaccinated at Baptist, but said demand exceeds supply at the moment and work is being done to make more vaccines available.
Elsewhere, it wasn’t so much bad news as it was confusion.
“They gave us a card and they said anytime,” one woman said.
“They told me I had a date for the second shot,” another senior told Local 10 News.
At the state-run Hard Rock Stadium site, people are wondering if these cards supplied after their first dose guarantees their second dose appointment or whether they need to go online again to make an appointment.
After a request into the Florida Department of Health, we were told people will get a call or email from the state about two weeks after their first dose.
A spokesperson at Baptist said they’re disappointed about the whole thing.
If you’ve already made your first appointment and you already got your first dose at Baptist, they told us you will still be getting a second dose.
The cancelations are for new appointments only.