Shipments of one of the COVID-19s vaccine to Florida are being delayed.

"The state has been notified that federal deliveries of Moderna vaccine are still delayed by severe weather, the Florida Division of Emergency Management tweeted this Thursday afternoon. "The state is working closely with providers to reschedule appointments as needed & we will continue to provide updates as they are received."

Earlier in the day, Publix announced it was continuing to put the scheduling of first dose vaccination appointments on hold because of the delivery delays.

People with appointments for second doses should expect to keep those dates, Publix said.

The supermarket chain had already canceled Wednesday's vaccination scheduling event.

"COVID-19 vaccine shipments continue to be delayed due to inclement weather," the statement on the Publix website said. 

Doctors in Central Florida say the delay is a serious problem. 

“We cannot have more delays in vaccinations,” said Dr. Aftab Khan.

Khan said this obviously delays people who are 65 and older from getting it. 

But since that’s who Gov. Ron DeSantis has prioritized, it also delays others who really need it. 

“That will also delay the vaccination of the people who are under 65 who have severe, underlying medical conditions,” Khan said. 

The weather delays have sent ripples throughout Central Florida. 

Advent Health had plans to vaccinate some of its patients who are vulnerable with these vaccines. 

“Our 1,000 doses for our medically needy, under 65, would be delayed, and again that was because of weather shipping issues,” said Chief Medical Officer for AdventHealth Central Florida Dr. Neil Finkler. 

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Previous Coverage

More than 200,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine expected to be delivered Tuesday were due to arrive Thursday, according to Samantha Bequer, press secretary for the Florida Division of Emergency Management.

“The state has been working closely with providers and has advised they begin to plan for delays in their vaccine delivery,” Bequer said in a statement. “This includes potentially rescheduling vaccine appointments, if necessary.”

“Just have patience on it,” Gov. Ron DeSantis said during a press conference Wednesday. “There’s nothing we can do with weather in the other states. We are going to get the Moderna, but it is not here when it would normally be here.”

DeSantis said Florida is also waiting for about 9,000 vaccine doses from Pfizer, which he expects to be delivered Wednesday night or Thursday morning.

Publix canceled Wednesday’s vaccine scheduling event because of the delivery delay. Appointments scheduled for Wednesday or Thursday are not impacted. 

“We know how important administering this vaccine is, so we deeply regret the need to cancel Wednesday’s scheduling event. Once additional vaccine is received, we will announce the next opportunity for vaccine appointment scheduling,” Publix Director of Communications Maria Brous said in a statement. 

Meanwhile, two vaccination events in Volusia County set for Thursday have been rescheduled. The first-dose clinic at the Volusia County Fairgrounds in DeLand has been rescheduled to Monday, February 22. The second-dose event, also at the fairgrounds, will now happen Tuesday, February 23.

A second-dose event scheduled for Friday has also been rescheduled for February 27.

County officials say people with appointments will be contacted to confirm the new date.