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Palms West Monthly • February 2021 • Page 1
Palms West
Monthly
WELLINGTON • ROYAL PALM BEACH • WEST PALM BEACH • LOXAHATCHEE GROVES • THE ACREAGE Volume 11, Number 2
PalmsWestMonthly.com
Don’t miss Barky Pines’ Puppy Love 5K! The 2nd annual run/walk takes place Saturday, Feb. 13. PAGE 4
FREE • February 2021
FLORIDA’S VACCINE ROLLOUT
Waiting is the hardest part Connections families receive gifts from Santa
Connections Education Center of the Palm Beaches coordinated with Spirit of Giving and Feeding South Florida to spread joy for its students and families during the holiday season.
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Century Village residents wait before appointments are handed out for the COVID19 vaccine in West Palm Beach on Jan. 11. Two days later, on Jan. 13, Florida’s
Photo by Greg Lovett/The Palm Beach Post via AP
director of emergency management said that a statewide appointment system for COVID-19 vaccinations should be ready within weeks.
Florida’s director of emergency management says a statewide appointment system for vaccinations should be ready in weeks. WPB Fishing Club hosts 84th annual Silver Sailfish Derby
Some of the finest captains and crews took to the water recently for the 84th running of what’s billed as the “World’s Oldest Sailfish Tournament.”
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Microbrewery opens its doors in Northwood Village If you’ve driven around Northwood Village the past three years, you may have noticed a sign with the words Skunkworts Brewing Concern.
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By BOBBY CAINA CALVAN and TAMARA LUSH The Associated Press
TALLAHASSEE — Florida’s director of emergency management said on Jan. 13, that a statewide appointment system for COVID-19 vaccinations should be ready within weeks, bringing order to the chaos marking Florida’s rollout of vaccines to its most vulnerable residents. Director Jared Moskowitz described plans for the online portal in an appearance before a legislative House committee holding hearings on the pandemic in Tallahassee. Gov. Ron DeSantis has made it a priority to provide coronavirus vaccines to seniors 65 and older, prompting a crush in demand. State health officials mostly left it to hospitals and county health departments to administer the vaccines, and some seniors camped out in long lines outside vaccination sites, only to be turned away when supplies ran out. “I know it feels chaotic – 67 different counties, systems and interpretations – but health care is delivered at the local
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level,” Muskowitz told lawmakers. He said a registration system could help alleviate the strain counties are now under as they deliver vaccinations. “We’re working on a registration system that we plan to launch in the coming weeks to help integrate site registration and fix some of the problems that we’ve all read about,” he said. The design of a statewide online portal is still under discussion and will be made available to counties – who are not required to use the system – to help them coordinate vaccinations. Since then, the governor has sought to widen the number of vaccination sites. The state is receiving $194 million from the federal government to help distribute the vaccines. During a news conference in Palm Beach County on Jan. 19, DeSantis said he wanted more Floridians vaccinated but said the state was at the mercy of the federal government because of limited vaccine supplies. So far, some 700,000 senior citizens have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, the governor said.
“We’re ready to accept more vaccine,” the governor said while announcing an expanded vaccination partnership with Publix, the state’s largest grocery chain. Publix is using 181 of its pharmacies across 15 counties to administer as many as 125 shots per day. At his news conference, the governor said 67 of the grocer’s stores in Palm Beach County – the largest of Florida’s 67 counties to take part in the program – would begin offering vaccinations by appointment. A fourth of the county’s residents are 65 or older. State Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith, a Democrat from the Orlando area, wants state officials to further expand vaccination sites and to give seniors who might not have access to computers and online portals an opportunity to register for vaccinations through their phones or in-person. “It should not be an onlineonly system,” he said. He also urged state officials to do a better job in reaching out to communities, particularly those of color, that might be reluctant to trust in the vaccine.
The pandemic has already had a sweeping effect on the state’s economy, especially in the tourism sector. New claims for jobless benefits tripled in Florida as the new coronavirus continued taking its toll. The U.S. Department of Labor reported on Jan. 14 that new jobless claims in the state jumped to 75,444, up from 24,697 in the previous week. With states beholden to the federal government for supplies, no one can be sure when enough vaccines will be available to meet demand. Florida Surgeon General Scott Rivkees told the Senate Health Policy Committee on Jan. 13 that Florida is getting about a million doses a month – suggesting that it could take many months before the general population can be fully vaccinated. Rivkees, like the governor, has urged patience. “This vaccine is our ray of hope,” Rivkees told the committee. Other vaccines are expected to gain federal approval in the coming months, which will surely bolster the state’s ability to vaccinate Florida’s 21.5 million residents. VACCINATIONS / PAGE 9
I know it feels chaotic – 67 different counties, systems and interpretations – but health care is delivered at the local level. — Jared Moskowitz, director of Florida’s Division of Emergency Management
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