In Latino-Heavy Miami, Elected Officials Demand More Vaccines for Seniors

Elected officials in Florida's Miami-Dade County, which has the highest concentration of Latinos in the state, are demanding more COVID-19 vaccines for people older than 65, reports NBC News . According to Florida International University epidemiologist Mary Jo Trepka, just 29.6 percent of the county's 65 and older population has received at least one vaccine, versus the state average of 34.5 percent. "We're trying to keep down the morbidity and mortality and until we get our seniors vaccinated at higher levels, we're not going to be able to take a big bite into hospitalizations," she explained. Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava submitted a letter to state Gov. Ron DeSantis requesting that he "urgently increase the volume" of vaccines in the county. Florida Sen. Annette Taddeo (D) lamented that "we're not getting vaccines from the governor. This is about fairness and making sure that we are not playing favorites." She and others believe a workable alternative would be to get the shots directly from the federal government. The University of Miami Health System's Olveen Carrasquillo blames a lot of unequal vaccine distribution on poor state and federal planning, and particularly worrying is the spread of misinformation that is making some community members reluctant to get vaccinated.