Publix vaccine appointments booked within 45 minutes Monday; Wednesday, Friday cancelled

Publix vaccine slots for Lee, Collier, and Charlotte counties become available at 7 a.m. Monday and Friday the week of Feb. 15; all were booked by 7:44 a.m. Monday, and Wednesday and Friday’s scheduling events have been cancelled “due to weather-related issues preventing government delivery of allotted COVID-19 vaccine,” according to a press release.

The process has been adjusted, and the Publix website now comes with instructions: The sign-up page displays a counter ticking down until the next time the page refreshes. A list of Florida counties shows how many appointment slots (by percentage) still remain in each one. Many people will always be trying to sign up at once, so things may proceed slowly, but nothing needs to be clicked at first; the website brings you to a scheduling page automatically upon refreshing once room becomes available.

Publix appointments are for Florida residents 65 and older. You should be able to book multiple people.

During the Publix Pharmacy booking process, you may be asked for Medicare information if you are on Medicare. The shot is still given at no cost to you whether or not you choose to provide that information.

RESIDENCY REQUIREMENT: If you got your first shot before the residency requirement change, you can still get your second dose without proving residency. Health care providers are exempt from the requirement. The requirement only applies to your first dose.

PDF: Residency requirement checklist

Click here to see the full list of Florida locations.