Q&A of the Day – Will the Biden administration expedite vaccines to Florida? Part 2
Bottom Line: With the Trump administration nearly achieving a million vaccinations per day prior to the Biden administration coming into office, nothing had to change in order for Biden to achieve his stated 100 million vaccinations in 100-day pledge. But he did sign executive orders mandating three changes. Those three changes once again are these:
- Addition of federally backed Community vaccination centers across the country
- Mobile units for rural and underserved communities
- No consideration for immigration status
Starting with the federally backed community vaccination centers. This is no different than what Florida has already done with the use of sites like Marlins Park for vaccinations. Recently, I illustrated that Florida’s performance during the rollout of vaccinations was better than average, especially for a large state. Some states which are less organized in their rollouts might benefit from added community vaccination centers but there isn’t any clear benefit in Florida. The issue hasn’t been access to vaccination sites, it’s been demand greatly outstripping supply for vaccinations. Regarding the mobile units...
The use of mobile units has the potential to be effectual across the country and in Florida. It’s challenging for someone who is in a community where vaccination sites aren’t readily available to gain access to an appointment. The net effect is/will likely be fewer people in less populated areas becoming vaccinated without additional support. The use of mobile units in these communities represents potential upside over previous plans. And that takes us to the third change.
Going forward the Biden administration intends to drop documentation requirements proving legal status for those who receive the federal vaccinations. Those are currently the Pfizer vaccinations. We’re talking about policy which literally prioritizes illegal immigrants for vaccinations, at taxpayer expense, alongside legal American citizens. It’s an injustice that’s hard to put to words but it’s consistent with the Obama-Biden amnesty policies generally. You could have Americans die from COVID-19 who weren’t able obtain a vaccination they paid for because illegal immigrants were prioritized. So, what about the impact of Biden’s vaccination policies in Florida?
With capacity for vaccinations already maxing out with Pfizer and Moderna, the best chance of an improvement in vaccines available comes from a new vaccine candidate coming online, a la Johnson & Johnson’s which is a single dose vaccine should it be approved by the FDA. Otherwise, there’s the potential benefit for Floridians in rural communities to be better served through mobile units. But then there’s the rub for the average Floridian. It’s possible it will take longer for Floridians to receive vaccinations as the Biden administration prioritizes illegal immigrants equitably with legal citizens.
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