City vaccination sites are set to close Thursday as supply dries up

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JACKSONVILLE, Florida – Jacksonville will be forced to close two city-run COVID-19 vaccination sites at the end of the day Thursday if it does not receive more doses.

In a Tuesday afternoon press conference, Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry said city sites would run out of vaccine supplies by the end of the day Thursday, and that no not know when these sites can reopen.

“We’re prepared to open more sites, if – if it’s important – if the supplies are available,” Curry said. “Please understand that the City of Jacksonville does not control the supply chain and what is available. While the state of Florida determines who gets their weekly allowance and how much, it doesn’t even know how much they’ll receive week-to-week. “

Curry said the 8,000 people who have already received their first dose at one of the two sites will still be able to receive their second dose.

MORE | State data shows 45K Floridians late for second injection of COVID-19 vaccine

Curry said the entire state received 275,000 units of the vaccine last week. The state is notified every seven days of how many doses of vaccine Florida will receive the following week, he added, and that number has varied each time.

Leon Haley, CEO of UF Health Jacksonville, said he faces the same problem.

“We too will probably run out of vaccine this week if we don’t get a second round,” Haley said.

Between UF Health hospitals in Jacksonville and Gainesville, Haley said, about 35,000 health workers and patients received at least their first dose last month.

Haley said the city was still firmly in the midst of the second wave of COVID-19 infections, but that there had been encouraging signs recently.

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As of Tuesday, there were 510 COVID-19 patients in Jacksonville hospitals, of which 68 were on ventilators and 120 were in intensive care units. As of Monday, there were 536 patients in total.

“So the good news is that we’re starting to see a little change in the way hospitals and hospitalizations are happening across town,” Haley said. “The mayor mentioned that the positivity rate in the city of Jacksonville is now 8.4%. That’s good, because just as recently as two weeks ago it was 15%. “

Monday marked the first time less than 10,000 cases have been reported in a day since December 28, when 8,198 cases were reported.

Curry said the state-run site at the Prime Osborn Convention Center will continue to offer vaccinations and the state plans to start administering vaccines at the Regency Square Mall in the future.

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