The county of Seminole opens the first vaccination site for elderly residents in the shopping center Oviedo

He told News 6 that Seminole County was selected and received 8,100 doses of the Modern COVID-19 vaccine. He said the county is ready to receive Pfzier vaccines and has the ability to freeze.

“We’ll do up to 700 a day,” Harris said.

When the online portal was opened so people 65 and older could sign up to get the vaccine, Harris said all appointments were booked within hours.

“I was hoping there would be some concern about the vaccine because of all the conspiracy theories, but clearly people have read, understood the facts, discarded the stupid conspiracy theories and are interested in getting vaccinated and saving themselves. life, “Harris said.

Harris said it’s vital that people make an appointment. There are no excursions to the appointments.

“Because we have to thaw the doses,” he said. “So we have to have the exact amount of dose every day.”

Once a vile vaccine is opened, it should be used in 6 hours, Seminole County Health Officer Donna Walsh said. If someone doesn’t show up, he’ll call people on a waiting list, but Walsh expects people to meet his appointments.

“We have 30 days to use this refrigerated product once thawed and we are very careful not to enter a vial until we have 10 people. So we know we can use this bottle within six hours, ”said Walsh.

Jeff Wray said he was one of those scheduled to get the COVID-19 vaccine at the Oviedo shopping center.

“I hope that once they go through this, others will see that there is no problem in getting the vaccine and protecting them, not only themselves, but also their family and other people they come in contact with,” he said. dir Wray.

People can make an appointment by going to prepareseminole.org or by calling the direct phone number of citizens at 407-665-0000. People who meet the vaccine requirements can also go directly to Eventbrite to request an appointment.

All of this week’s appointments were booked starting Monday morning and the county was scheduled to open the website to make more reservations at 11 a.m., however, the website had an interruption on Monday morning.

“Currently, the Seminole County website is down and the phone lines are busy while residents over the age of 65 are trying to register for a COVID-19 vaccine,” the county said in a tweet. “We appreciate your patience as we work through these issues.”

Harris said the county is working to get more servers online to meet demand.

According to a press release, residents over the age of 65 who have appointments will be vaccinated in the dining area in front of the Loft outlet. People should enter the mall between Paul Mitchell School and Oyishi Steakhouse, near the north entrance to the dining area.

As of Dec. 28, only the following groups are eligible for the vaccine: residents age 65 and older, residents and long-term care center staff, EMTs and paramedics, Florida Department of Health clinical staff who offers services and health workers.

Residents can also send a text message to COVID19INFO at 888-777 to receive notifications when the vaccine is available to more groups.

County officials said a letter of authorization from a doctor is no longer required to receive the vaccine.

As of 8:15 p.m., Monday, all appointments have been completed through Jan. 9.

Seminole County, as well as other Central Florida County leaders, are working with the Florida Emergency Management Division to expedite the distribution of vaccines in addition to its residents.

Walsh estimated that vaccines would be available to a wider population in March or April, but if the federal drug administration approves additional vaccines, that could speed up the schedule.