© 2026 WGCU News
PBS and NPR for Southwest Florida
Donate
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Florida Sees Big Racial Disparities On COVID-19 Vaccine Access

WLRN Public Media
Published February 23, 2021 at 6:07 AM EST
Ketley Joachim sits with her mom, Suzanne Noel, 97 from North Miami Beach after she received her vaccine during an interfaith COVID-19 vaccination drive at the Aventura Turnberry Jewish Center in Aventura Florida hosted in partnership with a mosque and Black churches on Feb. 4.
Mike Stocker
/
Sun-Sentinel
Ketley Joachim sits with her mom, Suzanne Noel, 97 from North Miami Beach after she received her vaccine during an interfaith COVID-19 vaccination drive at the Aventura Turnberry Jewish Center in Aventura Florida hosted in partnership with a mosque and Black churches on Feb. 4.

The COVID-19 vaccination rate remains low among Black and Hispanic Floridians despite initiatives announced by Gov. Ron DeSantis to bring more shots to underserved communities.

Now, the federal government has stepped in. The Federal Emergency Management Agency plans to open four mass vaccination sites in Florida with one at Miami Dade College’s North Campus and the others in Orlando, Tampa and Jacksonville. Around each site, two mobile units will go into nearby underserved areas and give out 500 vaccinations a day.

The mobile units are the latest effort to address a stubborn disparity in the distribution of COVID vaccinations in Florida. With about 2.5 million vaccines given so far, 10 percent of white Floridians have been vaccinated compared to just 4% of Blacks and 4% of Hispanics. That disparity is even starker in Palm Beach County.

Read more from our news partner the Sun-Sentinel

Copyright 2021 WLRN 91.3 FM. To see more, visit .

Tags
RaceCoronavirusLocalVaccine
Trusted by over 30,000 local subscribers

Local News, Right Sized for Your Morning

Quick briefs when you are busy, deeper explainers when it matters, delivered early morning and curated by WGCU editors.

  • Environment
  • Local politics
  • Health
  • And more

Free and local. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.

More from WGCU
  • Environment
    Introduction to Snowy Egrets
    Dr. Jerry Jackson
    With its all-white plumage, black bill, black legs, and bright yellow face and feet, the Snowy Egret is a stunning and easily recognized bird – one that I often refer to as the “bird with the golden slippers.”So why does the Snowy Egret have yellow feet? Perhaps to keep it from stabbing its own feet as it searches for the small creatures it eats. The intensity of the yellow on both its face and its feet becomes brightest during the breeding season, thus it probably also plays a role in courtship – perhaps serving as an indicator of the health of the bird.
  • Housing
    Moving stress measured across 355 US metro areas -- Southwest Florida ranks among the highest
    WGCU Staff
    Moving can be a stressful endeavor: selling your home, showing your home to prospective buyers, negotiating a price, buying another home, packing up, unpacking — it can be a high-stress activity.Research carried out by federally legal cannabis retailer, Mood, analyzed 355 U.S. metro areas across and found seven of the top 10 most stressful places for moving are in Florida and four of them are right here in Southwest Florida — Naples, Punta Gorda, North Port and Cape Coral.
  • Environment
    Third Florida panther death reported in 2026; suspected vehicle strike in Polk County
    WGCU Staff
    A third panther death is being reported by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission, the suspected victim of a vehicle collision. The injured 3-year-old, male Florida panther was rescued on January 28 in Polk County in Central Florida by ZooTampa, at the direction of the FWC, for treatment and assessment by their veterinary team.