Hundreds of Seniors Camped Out for COVID-19 Vaccines in Florida County

• Hundreds of seniors in Lee County, Florida, camped out overnight this week in hopes of receiving their first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.
• The photos show long lines of people sitting in chairs and wearing layers of clothing to keep warm as they waited through the night.
• The county announced Sunday that vaccines will be available on a first-come, first-served basis for people 65 and older and healthcare workers.
• Each vaccine site had reached capacity even before opening each day this week, local media WZVN-TV and News-Press reported.
• Visit the Insider home page for more stories.

Photos and videos show hundreds of seniors camping overnight to receive the COVID-19 vaccine in a Florida county this week after the doses were made available to the public.

The long lines occurred in Lee County, where health officials sent out a press release Sunday saying that doses of the COVID-19 vaccine in the county would be available on a first-come, first-served basis for high-risk health workers. and 65-year-olds. years and more.

In the hours and days that followed, hundreds of seniors, some of whom were in their 90s, lined up in front of various vaccination sites across the county, reported WZVN-TV and News-Press, a local Florida newspaper. .

Many of them spent nights outdoors, in temperatures reaching 47 degrees Fahrenheit.

Vaccine sites reached capacity in the early hours of Monday morning, but people lined up again to receive vaccines in the following days. The sites also reached capacity on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Photos from the scene show people sitting in chairs and covered in blankets as they waited outside for hours in hopes of receiving the vaccine:

—Zach Oliveri (@Zach_Oliveri) December 29, 2020

—Andrea Perdomo (@am_perdomo) December 30, 2020

—The Voice of America (@VOANews) December 30, 2020

A 67-year-old Fort Myers woman who received the first dose of Modern COVID-19 vaccine at the Fort Myers Stars Complex on Tuesday told Insider that she arrived at the vaccination site at 3 a.m. and brought a sleeping bag and clothing. from winter to stay warm.

“I was intrigued from the start, and I’m a science and math person,” the woman, who asked to hide her name publicly for privacy, told Insider about receiving the COVID-19 vaccine. “I’m an early adopter. I know it’s basically up to me to go and do something like this.”

He said he took the vaccine because he wanted to see his two children and that he wanted to go back to work in the travel industry.

“I would love to see my family and not be afraid that they will give it to me and kill me. I would not want them to experience that,” he said.

—Mama Bee 🗽🩸🦷 (@bmamabel) December 30, 2020

Most sites reach capacity before 7 a.m. every day

It’s unclear how many people waited in line at vaccination sites each night, but Tammy Yzaguirre, the public information officer for the Florida Department of Health in Lee County, told an insider that 2,865 vaccinations were administered Wednesday and that In some places, people had started queuing at 2pm on Tuesday.

It’s also unclear how many vaccines were administered on Monday and Tuesday, but Yzaguirre told News-Press that most of the test sites had reached capacity by 7 a.m. each day, two hours before the test sites even officially open.

—Nicole Gabe (@NicoleGabeTV) December 30, 2020

—Nicole Gabe (@NicoleGabeTV) December 30, 2020

The woman Insider spoke to and who got vaccinated criticized the way the vaccine was handled; He said long lines make it more difficult for disabled people and others who cannot wait outside for hours to get vaccinated.

Yzaguirre told Insider that a reservation system is currently in the works.

And while the 67-year-old is frustrated with the way the vaccine was released, she told Insider that she’s happy she was able to get hers this week.

“All the way he was driving home yelling ‘Yippee!'” He told Insider. “I’m glad to hear that the process has started and that I’ve been a part of human testing history.”