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(Journalist)
– Florida faces a coronavirus problem of its own. The state announced new rules this week to curb what is now known as “vaccine tourism” – non-residents traveling to the state to be vaccinated against COVID, reports the Tallahassee Democrat. From now on, people who register for appointments will have to provide proof of residence. Blanket:
- The beginning: The problem has been going on for weeks now because the state has opened gunshots to anyone 65 and over, whether a resident or not, according to the the Wall Street newspaper. however, real residents of the state were increasingly fed up with standing in line. “It’s disgusting,” a 76-year-old Miami Beach resident told the newspaper. “It’s not good for me if everyone goes out and I have to wait six months. At my age, time is running out for me, and it’s not fair.
- Excluding staters: People came from elsewhere in the United States. For example, WBMA talks to a Georgian couple who drove for two hours to cross the border and get vaccinated. “They knew we were from out of state and they said it was good so we didn’t feel like we were pushing anyone else, which we didn’t want to do. Says Connie Wallace.
- Foreigners: But non-staters weren’t the only non-Floridians to take advantage. the Sentinel of the Sun reports that foreigners, especially Argentines and Canadians, also exploited the rules. “If I had had the opportunity to do it in Argentina, I would have done it,” lawyer Ana Rosenfeld told the newspaper. She was shot near Tampa. A newspaper in Buenos Aires, Clarin, reported that about a dozen business executives have also traveled to Florida to be vaccinated.
- Snowbirds OK: The new rules will not bar “snowbirds” – Americans who reside in Florida only in winter – from being shot, CNN reports. “Now we have part-time residents who are here all winter long,” says State Surgeon General Dr. Scott Rivkees. “They go to the doctors here or whatever, that’s good. What we don’t want are tourists, foreigners. We want to put seniors first, but obviously we want to put the people who live here first.
- Big picture: CNN speaks with an expert from Vanderbilt who is not so afraid of the phenomenon of “vaccine tourism”. “Rather than ‘this is my vaccine, not yours’, (receiving) the vaccine in the guns is what we want,” says Dr William Schaffner. “I hope we have enough vaccines quickly so that we don’t have to dwell on these somewhat trivial matters.”
- Road trip: in the New York Times, David Leonhardt describes a “vaccine road trip” he took with his 74-year-old mother. She lived with him in Washington, where the deployment was tedious. She usually lives in Colorado, so they booked a spot for her there. Leonhardt drove her to St. Louis, and a sister took her to Denver.
(Read more stories about COVID-19.)
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