Don Godsey, 76, is looking forward to getting his first COVID-19 vaccination shot next Tuesday in Chattanooga, but his wife, Joyce, doesn’t yet qualify for the vaccination in Hamilton County, where it is reserved for those 75 and older.
The Godseys are trying to arrange her vaccination in St. Petersburg, Florida, where the couple owns a condominium, and where the age requirement for a vaccination is 65.
“Once she can get an appointment, we’re going to be flying down there to get the shot,” said Godsey, who founded the promotional products company Gold Bond Inc. in Hixson. “You do not have to be a Florida resident. That is the reason a lot of people are going to Florida.”
The piecemeal and unpredictable rollout of COVID-19 vaccines and the widely variable guidelines about who qualifies from state to state are prompting people to cross borders and travel long distances in search of the vaccine.