A federal vaccine site in Jacksonville can support 500 people a day. Only 29 got the shot on Thursday

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – As more vaccines become available, demand in Duval County appears to be declining.

At a federal location in Jacksonville with a capacity for 500 people, only 29 were shot on Thursday.

Thousands of doses have been made available at Jacksonville’s new federal sites, but so far only a third of that supply seems to be getting used to every day.

On Friday, Gov. Ron DeSantis addressed the demand issue. He said the age restriction will be reduced sometime in March.

But right now there are people who don’t meet the age requirements in places hoping to get shot remains.

With teachers of all ages eligible for the vaccine, there has been a steady stream of people at the federal vaccination site at Gateway Mall, but only a handful of people at Jacksonville’s two satellite sites. One of the reasons the governor will announce more changes in age requirements in the near future.

Announcements

“We will take an age-based approach in the future. It will happen in March. We will lower the age. I don’t have that exact date because it depends on the supply of vaccines and it depends on ensuring that we get arms shots for the elderly,” he said. dir DeSantis.

He said it is very likely that the minimum age will drop from 65 to 60 and then drop from 55 and that an announcement will be made later this month.

The announcement comes as demand seems to soften.

On Thursday, at the Gateway Mall site, 840 shots were fired at a site authorized to administer 2,000 vaccines a day. At the two satellite sites, 150 people were vaccinated at the Westside site, but only 29 people were shot at the northwest Jacksonville site. Each of the satellite sites has the capacity to make 500 shots a day.

At the state site of Regency Mall, the latest figures on Wednesday show that 1,780 shots were administered at a site that can withstand 2,000 first and second doses.

Announcements

Edward Waters College can vaccinate 200 people a day and on Thursday administered 247 shots because staff say it obtained additional doses from the vials.

News4Jax spoke with Jacksonville health experts about the impact of reducing age requirements for the vaccine. One experience said that the younger population may not be as interested in getting vaccinated.

“Is there demand? Viously, obviously people like me in public health and epidemiology want as many people as possible to be vaccinated. But that doesn’t mean these people want to get vaccinated for a variety of reasons, ”Chad Neilsen told UF Health.“ Maybe they have preconceived notions about the vaccine, maybe they’re not sure yet. But it’s okay. It means we need to start educating more. “