Publix-only vaccine plan 'unconscionable,' Glades mayors say

After spending weeks working to convince skeptical seniors to get the coronavirus vaccine, Belle Glade Mayor Steve Wilson now has to explain to his constituents that none is available.

When Gov. Ron DeSantis decided to send the lion’s share of Palm Beach County's allotment of vaccines to Publix, he all but assured residents of the poverty-wracked farming community won’t get them, Wilson said.

“There’s no way in humanity my seniors can make such a long drive, and I wouldn’t want them to,” he said, pointing out that the nearest Publix store is in Loxahatchee Groves. “How can you even think about laying out a plan where you don’t have a Publix within 30 miles? It’s ridiculous.”

In a letter to DeSantis on Wednesday, Wilson and the mayors of South Bay and Pahokee explained that many people in the predominantly Black communities don’t own cars.

Read more: https://www.palmbeachpost.com/story/news/2021/01/27/publix-only-vaccine-plan-palm-beach-county-unconscionable-glades-mayors-say/4275650001/