Because each county and hospital in the state implemented its own approach, many people didn’t know whether to call, log on or show up in person to secure a spot.

Officials in Lee County, home to Fort Myers, learned last Saturday that the county would be one of eight in the state receiving doses the following day to inoculate people 65 and older, said Kevin Ruane, chairman of the county commission. With the local health department thinly staffed, they rushed to enlist paramedics and others. They weren’t able to set up a reservation system, leading to hundreds of people lining up before dawn.

“It’s a logistical nightmare,” said Fort Myers Mayor Kevin Anderson.

Frustrated by the slow pace of inoculations, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey issued an executive order Wednesday directing the state health department to create a vaccine-allocation system and allowing the agency to take possession of doses for reassignment.