Vaccinations against COVID-19 will begin Monday in Jacksonville

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Florida Department of Health in Duval County will begin administering Moderna COVID-19 vaccine to anyone 65 years of age or older and health care workers who may request an appointment Monday.

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 this week’s appointments.

The vaccine will be given at the Prime Osborn convention center and 500 appointments were 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. Health workers will be there to monitor these people.

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

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.

He added these notes about booking appointments, which he hopes to reopen this 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 the form. 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 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, the medical executive director of the state Department of Health in Duval County.” We provide it for free, and with it, even if you are not a resident of Duval, you can still get vaccinated, 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. ” .