Gov. DeSantis announces 16 Collier County Publix vaccination sites

Sixteen Publix stores in Collier County are set to become vaccination sites beginning Thursday.

Publix and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced Wednesday the availability of COVID-19 vaccinations in Collier, Flagler, St. Johns and Volusia counties. The expansion is part of DeSantis’ allocation of additional doses of the Moderna vaccine to be administered to individuals ages 65 and older.

Many of the appointments, though, were taken before the formal announcements were made.

Pat Ellis is 75 years old, she said. Her husband is 79.

“We’d like to spend the last few years of our life just living it,” Ellis said.

Ellis and others watched as DeSantis made the noon announcement at the Publix at The Shoppes at Pebblebrook.

“My best friend had COVID and almost died,” Ellis, a Collier County resident, said.

Partnering with Publix is a good way to get the vaccine into the community, said DeSantis who has been on a tour crisscrossing Florida recently to highlight the partnership with the grocery store.

“Not every place has as many hospitals doing this as others … We have other places like Miami-Dade, they have really big systems that are turning out a lot,” he said. “Other places aren’t as robust.”

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