Gov. Ron DeSantis is urging Florida residents to be patient as bad winter weather in the U.S. is delaying shipments of COVID-19 vaccine doses to the state.
DeSantis spoke at a news conference in Lakewood Ranch near Sarasota.
The governor said Florida has received the "vast majority" of this week's shipment of the Pfizer vaccine doses, with about 136,000 arriving and around 9,000 still expected.
But DeSantis said the weather has delayed the delivery of the Moderna vaccine, which may not arrive until Thursday or Friday.
"If you have an appointment like at a Publix for Thursday and they have to delay you that's almost assuredly why," DeSantis said. "So just have patience on it, there's nothing we can do with the weather in the other states."
DeSantis said Tuesday the state was working to ensure the vaccine doses were distributed as efficiently as possible when they arrive.
Local
Publix canceled its next scheduling event for COVID-19 vaccine appointments in Florida on Wednesday due to weather-related issues. Appointments scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday aren't impacted by the change.
