Seniors still trying to schedule vaccinations as eligible age lowers

More of you can start booking a COVID-19 vaccination appointment starting Monday, with the eligible age group expanding to 50 and up. This means another 2.8 million Floridians can get vaccinated after just one week of 60 and older being the eligible range.

This also means even more people are vying for the slots, even though there are seniors in that first priority group who still haven’t gotten their shots, many of whom are now feeling forgotten. It’s something we have heard over and over again, and it’s largely due to frustration with the booking process, many chalking it up to simply a matter of luck.

Corky Condon, 64, of Fort Myers Beach, feels like her luck has run out. She’s been trying for weeks to get vaccinated with a note from her doctor and cannot get an appointment. With more competition to get the shot she is worried she may never be vaccinated.

“Well, I spend hours,” Condon said. “I make sure that, instead of my usual morning routine, I get up and go straight to the computer.”

Condon’s underlying conditions and desire to see her mother in California make her struggle feel especially urgent.

“Plus, the fact my mother just turned 88, I believe… I can’t get on a plane and go to California to see her,” Condon said. “I have to live with probably thinking that I will never see my mother alive again.”

But she says she is not ready to give up yet.

“Sometimes, I’m like, why do I even bother?” Condon said. “But then I’m like… like I said, I can’t go see my mom… I don’t have a social life, and I miss that! And I am a beach girl, I’d like to socialize… but not at the cost of my health.”

According to the Florida Department of Health, the latest numbers show that seniors in the critical group have dominated the percentage of people vaccinated, with close to 3.1 million receiving their shots out of a total 4.8 million shots administered.