- Hundreds of senior citizens in Lee County, Florida, camped out overnight this week in hopes of getting their first doses of COVID-19 vaccines.
- Photos show long lines of people sitting in chairs and wearing layers of clothing to keep warm as they waited overnight.
- The county announced on Sunday that vaccines would be available on a first-come, first-serve basis to people over the age of 65 and healthcare workers.
- Each vaccine site had reached capacity before even opening each day this week, local outlets WZVN-TV and News-Press reported.
The long lines occurred in Lee County, where health officials sent out a press release on Sunday saying doses of COVID-19 vaccine in the county would be available on a first-come, first-serve basis to high-risk healthcare workers and people 65 years old and over. In the hours and days that followed, hundreds of elderly people – some of whom were in their 90s – lined up outside several vaccination sites across the county, WZVN-TV and News-Press, a local Florida newspaper, reported. Many of them spent nights outside, in temperatures that dropped as low as 47 degrees Fahrenheit. Vaccine sites hit capacity in the early morning hours of Monday, but people returned to line up for vaccines in the following days. The sites hit capacity on Tuesday and Wednesday, too.
Photos from the scene show people sitting in chairs and covered in blankets as they waited outside for hours hoping to get the vaccine