3 federal Jacksonville vaccine sites to stop administering the first doses next week

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Starting next Wednesday, only the second doses of the COVID-19 vaccine will be available at federally supported locations in Jacksonville, including the Gateway Mall and its two satellite locations in Oceanway and Jacksonville Beach.

Tuesday, March 24 will be the last day for people who meet the requirements to get a first dose of federally supported sites in Jacksonville, Tampa, Orlando and Miami. There will only be two days left for newly qualified people between the ages of 50 and 60 to be vaccinated at the largest vaccination clinic in Northeast Florida.

The only exception: the state plans to offer the Johnson and Johnson single-dose vaccine during the last two weeks of operation.

Those looking for first doses will be able to request appointments from retail pharmacies such as Walmart and Publix, as well as state vaccination clinics such as Regency Square Mall and Edward Waters College.

Announcements

According to the Florida Division of Emergency Management, federally-supported sites were to remain open for eight weeks and close on April 28th. State officials say it is possible the operation could be extended to meet growing demand.

“The state understands the importance of these vaccination sites in increasing vaccine access to Floridians. The state is working closely with the federal government to assess whether these sites may remain open on April 28.” , said a statement from the Florida Division of Emergency Management. “This operation can be expanded based on several factors, including, among other things, increased vaccine allocation and resource availability.”

According to the Florida Division of Emergency Management, FEMA satellite vaccination sites in Jacksonville at Oceanway Community Center and the Carver Center in Jacksonville Beach will return to the Normandy Community Center and the Hammond Center for the Elderly over the next three weeks. State officials say they want people to be able to go back to where they got the first dose for their second shot.

Announcements

The end of the first doses at Jacksonville’s FEMA sites is coming as Gov. Ron Desantis publicly discusses the age of waiver requirements completely for the COVID-19 vaccine. At a news conference Friday, Governor Desantis said he will likely lower the age limit to 16 years or older before May 1st.

Federal locations in Jacksonville added more than 4,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine a day to supply in Northeast Florida. The Gateway Mall alone is capable of vaccinating 3,000 people every day.

Jacksonville federally supported sites have not yet experienced a single day in which their daily dose allocation was used.

Since March 3, Jacksonville’s five state and federal sites have only administered approximately 60 percent of the doses available to each other, on average, each day.

Announcements

Incident commander Ron Beesley said FEMA has sent hundreds of staff to go to communities not only to inform them of vaccine clinics, but also to provide transportation to the sites.

“We hope the spread moves the needle in the near future. We see a change in our demographics, a positive move on that side. But we’re still seeing a lot of misinformation,” Beesley said. “One is they’ll put a chip on me and track me down.” This is 100% false. Another is that “they will inject me with coronavirus.” This is also 100% false. “

Another obstacle has been the qualification criteria for obtaining a vaccine in Florida, specifically the age limits. Until Monday, only sworn firefighters and law enforcement officers over the age of 50, school staff, the medically vulnerable, health workers and those over the age of 60 can receive a COVID-19 shot.

The Gateway vaccine site in Jacksonville created a booking list several weeks ago for those who don’t meet the criteria. People on the list will be called if an unused dose is obtained, but no one meets the criteria. On Monday, the incident commander said an unused dose had not been extracted in six days.

Announcements

“This list has more than 300 at the moment and many of these do not fit the criteria. So there is interest outside of the current criteria,” Beesley said.