On Monday, Feb. 22, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced that CVS Pharmacy will join other major companies, like Publix, Sam’s Club and Walmart, in the distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine. The vaccine will be available at CVS Pharmacy, CVS Pharmacy y más and Navarro Discount Pharmacy.
CVS will have a total of 81 locations throughout the state of Florida, with 67 out of the 81 locations in Miami-Dade County. While Miami-Dade is receiving the majority of the distributions, Polk County and Broward County have been allotted two locations each.
Collier, Escambia, Flagler, Hendry, Gadsden, Hillsborough, Manatee, Palm Beach, St. Lucie and Volusia will all have one CVS Pharmacy available to distribute vaccinations. While the exact address of these stores has not been released, each location will have the ability to administer 100 doses per day.
The announcement of this new addition comes after DeSantis faced much criticism on the disparities of the COVID-19 vaccine distribution between Whites and minorities. Although DeSantis made his announcement at a Navarro Pharmacy, owned by CVS, in Hialeah, Florida, he did not invite Hialeah Mayor Carlos Hernandez to the press conference where he announced the partnership with CVS.
“[Gov. Ron DeSantis has] been treating Miami-Dade as a third-world country, Hialeah like a third-world country,” Hernandez said to Sun Sentinel on Tuesday afternoon.
The portal to schedule vaccination appointments opened Wednesday, Feb. 24. To schedule an appointment, Floridians must be 65 years or older, following an executive order previously put in place by DeSantis.
Appointments can be scheduled here at a local CVS Pharmacy. For those unable to access the online portal, the CVS customer service line can be reached at 1-800-746-7287.
