Confusion abounds in Florida over Covid booster shots while the state becomes a hotspot for the disease

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My wife Sandy and I have both been under the weather this past week with respiratory infections serious enough that we got checked out at our nearby urgent care center.

The good news is that neither of us had Covid. The bad news is that we may have been among a minority of patients.

One of the nurses told Sandy that they had already seen five patients diagnosed with Covid that day.

That’s consistent with data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which, as you can see from the map below, lists Florida as one of the nation’s hotspots for the disease.

And it comes at a time of confusion about the availability of the vaccine because of revisions to federal guidelines issued under the direction of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

The Orlando Sentinel reports:

Walgreens spokeswoman Brigid Sweeney confirmed … that “the 2025-26 COVID-19 vaccine is not available at Florida Walgreens” until the state receives “eligibility guidance” from the Advisory Committee of Immunization Practices, or ACIP, a panel of medical and public health experts within the CDC.”

That committee is scheduled to meet Sept. 18-19 and is expected to issue its vaccine recommendations. How that panel will rule, though, is an open question since Kennedy fired every member of the board and replaced them with cronies likely to share his well-publicized anti-vax views.

I called my local Walgreens to confirm that and, sure enough, the new Covid vaccine is not available yet. But not all pharmacies are interpreting the federal guidance that way, which adds to the confusion.

As the Sentinel noted:

… CVS pharmacies offer the updated COVID vaccines to patients, “if they present an authorized prescriber’s prescription” and meet the FDA restrictions.

The new FDA restrictions issued Aug. 27 on the COVID-19 boosters limit the vaccines to those 65 years and older, or people with certain medical conditions that may make them susceptible to severe illnesses, such as asthma, obesity, depression, cancer or a history of smoking.

However, anyone wanting to get the shots without a prescription, but still meets the restrictions, can schedule an appointment with, or walk into, one of CVS’ MinuteClinics, which are staffed with medical professionals that can issue prescriptions.

Florida is currently among a dozen states implementing these restrictions. Pharmacies in 38 other states offer Covid shots without prescriptions, much like flu and other immunizations.

If this sounds chaotic and confusing, it is. Even medical professionals at the CDC are confused and frustrated, especially since Kennedy recently fired the director, Susan Monarez, purportedly over disagreements on vaccination policies.

Monarez is scheduled to testify at a hearing next week before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, which is investigating.

While the Florida Department of Health, overseen by Surgeon General Joe Ladapo, historically has aligned its vaccination recommendations with those of the federal government, in recent years it has on occasion contradicted CDC guidelines.

Yes, that would be the same Joe Ladapo who took the stage with Gov. Ron DeSantis last week to propose eliminating vaccinations for school-age children.

How this plays out is, obviously, of high interest given the surge in Covid infections.

What are the odds of contracting Covid right now in Florida? Check out these charts from Dr. Michael Hoerger from Tulane School of Medicine.

As you can see, the odds of being in a room with someone infected with Covid increases proportionally with the size of the crowd. Bottom line, if you are at a gathering in Florida with 100 or more people, it is almost certain someone there has Covid. In a gathering of 10 people, the odds are 37 percent. The risks vary by state, as the chart shows.

And if that weren’t unpleasant enough, some more data:

So, are Covid booster shots in your future? Only you can decide—assuming they are available at all—but now you have some statistics to help make that decision.

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J.C. Bruce, journalist and author, is the founder of Tropic Press. He holds dual citizenship in the United States of America and his native Florida. Share this email with your friends. They will love you for it.

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