As Jacksonville will distribute COVID-19 vaccines, starting Monday

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Duval County Department of Health will begin giving Modern COVID-19 vaccines Monday to anyone 65 and older and health care workers lucky enough to have an appointment on the first day.

A phone line that opened Wednesday to book appointments was flooded and could not connect the vast majority of people who called, causing frustration and outrage. When the online schedule started running just after 5pm on Thursday, it took less than 90 minutes to cover the rest of next week’s appointments.

Vaccines will be given at the Prime Osborn Convention Center and 500 appointments are scheduled for Monday. The department expects to increase to 1,000 appointments each day over time. Vaccines are free and a second dose will need to be given to make it as effective as possible.

The health department disseminated this information to people who came to be vaccinated:

• All people should wear a face mask at all times and practice social distancing during the appointment.
• You must show government-issued identification
• No bathrooms available during the appointment.
• Tickets will NOT be allowed.

Officials expect that requiring appointments will limit each person’s lines and waiting times. Filling out the consent form (available online) will also speed up the process.

There will be seven lanes enabled for people to enter their appointment to get the vaccine. Then they have to wait 15 minutes to make sure there are no adverse reactions. There will be health workers to monitor these people.

Many of those who were able to book appointments online hoped to receive a confirmation email or text confirmation, but Samantha Epstein with the health department said this will not happen, even though they are working to make the process more efficient.

“We understand that there are some questions and concerns about the online dating system. We want to thank the community for their patience as we continue to work to make this process more efficient, “he wrote to News4Jax on Friday and added these notes on booking appointments, which they hope to reopen next week:

• We have identified that people make multiple appointments online. Please do not do this as it lands the system and distances the time slots from others.
• Be sure to select a date and time before submitting the form. If a date / time band is not available on the form, do not submit it. If you submit the form without a date / time, the form will be deleted and you will not have an appointment.
• You will see a confirmation message (pop-up window) after setting the appointment. YOU WILL NOT RECEIVE a confirmation email. Take a screenshot of the confirmation message to keep it, although it is not necessary to receive the vaccine.

The link to make an appointment (jax.readyop.com/fs/4cc6/8521) will be maintained at duval.floridahealth.gov. People will be asked to enter their name, email, phone number and date of birth to book their time. No insurance information is required.

Anyone 65 years of age or older and any health care worker who has not yet received the COVID-19 vaccine can receive the first dose of the vaccine in Duval County. There is no residency requirement, although people are encouraged to get the vaccine in the county where they live.

“This vaccine is not limited by limits. It is provided by the federal government, “said Dr. Pauline Rolle, FDOH-Duval’s medical executive director. in, but keep in mind that other counties will develop their vaccination efforts, so we encourage people to get vaccinated in their own counties, but we will certainly serve anyone in any county. “

RELATED: COVID-19 vaccine in northeast Florida: what we know by county

Some people who called received the outgoing message from the health department and then received a quick busy signal or the call ended abruptly. Many people who called received the message that the call could not be completed or that even the line was out of service. Officials urged patience and kept trying.

“If you are over 65 and trying to make an appointment for the COVID-19 vaccine, the Duval County Department of Health says the phone lines work and please keep calling 253-1140,” the city ​​on its Facebook page Wednesday. “We’re getting a lot of calls, so callers may not pass right away. We ask callers to come with us as we try to reach each person. Every appointment matters to us.”

News4Jax heard from dozens of people frustrated by the inability to pass. A health worker, who wanted to remain anonymous, said she was able to book an appointment after calling 950 times over a two-hour span.

“I made a plan early,” he said. “I had two cell phones and my business phone set up on the computer, and in fact I started calling a couple of minutes before 8 in the morning and kept systematically rolling on every phone.”

When he reached the speed at which he could make the appointment:

“The call itself probably lasted about a minute,” he said. “Set up the appointment and that’s it.”

The health worker says she has direct contact with potential patients with COVID-19 on a daily basis.

“Within our organization, we have had a couple of people who die secondarily from complications with COVID. And I have an older family member living in my house and having the opportunity to have the vaccine for me and, finally, it’s important to him, and I know it will help us protect ourselves, ”he said.

Top-line workers at local hospitals began receiving their shots two weeks ago at UF Health Jacksonville, followed by other medical centers. CVS and Walgreen’s are currently working with the state to vaccinate staff and residents at long-term care facilities.