ORLANDO, Fla. — Hundreds of thousands of doses of COVID-19 vaccines are sitting unused in Central Florida, causing local counties to put a hold on new shipments.
There was a time not so long ago that vaccine appointments were hard to come by, but now those long lines are a thing of the past.
READ: Florida reports nearly 4,400 new COVID-19 cases, 82 virus-related deaths
“The demand hasn’t kept up with the supply,” Gov. Ron DeSantis said this week.
Just how much vaccine supply the state has left unused is unclear, because the state wouldn’t answer Channel 9′s request for the numbers of doses still unused.
Here’s what we know about the numbers locally:
- In Orange County alone, Health Director Dr. Raul Pino said the county has 100,000 doses not administered.
- Seminole County said they have over 50,000 doses available, but also say they will use that as soon as the Food and Drug Administration gives emergency use authorization to Pfizer to vaccinate 12- to 15-year-olds in the coming days.
- Osceola County’s health department said that they too have more supply than demand, but didn’t have the number of unused doses available yet.
- Lake, Volusia and Brevard counties did not respond to Channel 9′s requests for supply numbers.
READ: Here’s where to find the COVID-19 vaccine in your county
