Are rural counties shortchanged on vaccine supplies?

Posted 1/20/21

Are Florida’s rural counties being disenfranchised when it comes to COVID-19 vaccinations...

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Are rural counties shortchanged on vaccine supplies?

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Are Florida’s rural counties being disenfranchised when it comes to COVID-19 vaccinations, or have the smaller counties simply received fewer doses of the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines because they have smaller populations?
Let’s do the math.

The 2019 census estimate for the population of Florida was 21,477,737. As of Jan. 19, according to the Florida Department of Health Report, 965,756 people had received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. That’s approximately 4.4% of the state’s population.

The 2019 census estimate for Okeechobee County was 42,168. As of Jan. 19, 1,518 people had been vaccinated. That’s equivalent to 3.5% of the county population.

Glades County’s census population is 12,884. As of Jan. 19, 446 people had been vaccinated. That’s equivalent to 3.4% of the county population.

Palm Beach County’s census population is 1,496,770. As of Jan. 19, 90,409 people had been vaccinated. That’s equivalent to 6% of the county population.

Collier County’s census population is 321,520 and as of Jan. 19, 16,885 people were vaccinated, or the equivalent of 5.2% of the county population.

Martin County’s census population is 161,000. As of Jan. 19, 8,804 people had been vaccinated. That’s equivalent to 5.4% of the county population.

So while Palm Beach County residents appear to have nearly twice the access to vaccination supplies as Glades County residents, based on the state average, the rural counties are not far behind the state.

The vaccination numbers count the number of people who were vaccinated in that county.

They do not count people by county or even state of residence. Because the vaccines are federally funded, there are no residency requirements. Anyone who meets the criteria (over age 65 or a health care professional with direct patient care) can go to any vaccination clinic in the state. Another factor to consider, the census population count does not include the winter residents, and winter residents are being vaccinated in Florida.

covid-19, vaccinations, counties

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