Lee County’s vaccine site at RSW sees busy lines; some in need of medical attention due to outdoor heat

Many people will remember the lines that were seen of people camping out to get a vaccine for the coronavirus when they were first started to be distributed in December 2020. A familiar sight developed in Southwest Florida for people finally getting their chance to receive the shot.

Hundreds of people waited in line more than an hour in the heat at the Lee County coronavirus vaccine site at RSW Airport Thursday. Lee County says paramedics had to help some people in line waiting to get their shots on the airport’s property.

At the busiest point, we could see people standing all way back under tents for a long time, and some weren’t happy about it.

People were trying to get their Moderna vaccine at the Lee County vaccination site and get back to a pre-pandemic lifestyle.

“The impending doom should be gone,” James Goforth said.

“It was great. I couldn’t live without it,” William Inman said.

The line was not bad for the Inmans. They waited for about an hour for their first dose in the afternoon.

“We went up the line, and then, wham, bam, thank you, ma’am, it was over. It was good,’ Inman said.

But for the Goforths’ four o’clock appointment for their second dose, it became more of a 5:30 p.m. appointment.

“We stood. A lot of other people stood,” Inman said. “The 4:15 window went right on by. Left us. The 4:45 window went on by. The 4:30 went on by. We are still standing, so I don’t know who didn’t open the gates to let us go, but they didn’t.”

Lee County said the long lines are because some people needed some medical help while they were in line.

Goforth hopes the lines go back to being shorter when the vaccination site moves indoors. It is set to move to the old Sears at the Edison Mall in Fort Myers April 12.

“It was very pleasant out here,” Goforth said. “It will be nice. We are coming into our hot, wet weather, so that they will have a staging area, vaccination area in a covered, air conditioning facility.”

Lee county wants to remind everyone to make sure you are hydrated before you hop into these lines, and bring water with you while you wait.