FEMA vaccine site abandoned state rules, gave vaccine to any resident 18 and older
A FEMA site suddenly deviating from state rules may have allowed possibly hundreds of Floridians to get the COVID-19 vaccine without needing to be part of one of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ eligible groups.
On Saturday, the FEMA satellite vaccine site in Florida City was giving vaccines to anyone who was a Florida resident and was 18 and over, according to sources at the site.
Marty Bahamonde, spokesman for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said the site should be following the same criteria established by DeSantis that all other FEMA sites do. Why the Florida City site deviated from the rules is being looked into.
“The governor controls the rules on who can get the vaccine,” Bahamonde said.
Marc Caputo, Politico politics reporter, told the Miami Herald that staffers at the site were texting friends Saturday morning to come down and get the vaccine.. Staff told Caputo there was low demand for a high-demand resource and they wanted to help during the pandemic.
“Things were going so slow, so they wanted people to come to the site,” Caputo said.
The Florida City site will be open until March 10, when it will move to another city, and can give only 500 vaccines a day.
Caputo arrived at the site around 11 a.m. and noticed only 40 people in line. After posting on Facebook about the absence of normal rules at the site, which was later taken down, things started to pick up. By 1 p.m., more than 100 people were in line.
Florida City Police Chief Pedro Taylor was also at the site helping people get vaccinated. Caputo says state officials on-site knew exactly what was going on. One Florida official told him that they sometimes do this on an ad hoc basis.
According to one person waiting for the vaccine at the Florida City site, a FEMA official was asking those waiting only if they were a Florida resident and were 18 and over. Another worker later came and counted those in line.
By 4 p.m., site officials had closed the line and put up a sign saying vaccines had run out. The site vaccinated 492 people, 192 were administered the Pfizer vaccine and 302 the Johnson and Johnson, according to FEMA Master Public Information Officer Mike Jachles.
While the site may have suspended rules, everyone who came out was orderly, calm and waited patiently.
“Everyone was happy, which is a rare thing in a pandemic,” Caputo said.
As for Sunday, Bahamonde said that the Florida City FEMA staff have been reminded of the criteria and vaccines will go only to those who are part of the eligible groups designated by the state.
“We expect that all will go well,” Bahamonde said. “We also ask for the public’s proper participation in the process.”
Florida City Commissioner Eugene Berry said he expects crowds on Sunday to be similar to those on Saturday. He could not say what would occur if people do amass and are turned away. He said he expects a smooth process as seen Saturday.
Currently, all FEMA sites are following the Florida eligibility list, which does not allow Florida residents to get a vaccine, unless they are a part of the following groups:
▪ Long-term facility residents and staff.
▪ People 65 years of age and older.
▪ Healthcare personnel with direct patient contact.
▪ K-12 school employees
▪ Sworn law enforcement officers 50 years of age and older.
▪ Firefighters 50 years of age and older.
▪ Individuals deemed extremely vulnerable to COVID-19 by a physician
