COVID-19 vaccinations to begin Monday in Jacksonville

JACKSONVILLE, Florida – The Duval County Florida Department of Health will begin administering Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine on Monday to anyone 65 years of age and older and to healthcare workers who have been able to secure an appointment.

A phone line opened on Wednesday to make appointments was flooded and failed to connect the vast majority of people who called, causing frustration and outrage. When the online schedule went live just after 5 p.m. Thursday, it took less than 90 minutes for the rest of this week’s appointments to be filled.

The vaccine will be administered at the Prime Osborn Convention Center, and 500 appointments were scheduled for Monday. The ministry hopes to increase to 1,000 appointments each day over time. The vaccines are free and a second dose will be necessary for it to be as effective as possible.

The health service disseminated this information to people coming to be vaccinated:

• All people are required to wear a face mask at all times and to practice social distancing during the date.
• You will need to present a government issued ID.
• There are no toilets available during the appointment.
• Walk-ins will NOT be allowed.

Officials hope that requiring appointments will limit queues and waiting times for each person. Completing the consent form (available online) will also speed up the process.

There will be seven lanes set up for people to come to their appointments to be vaccinated. Then they have to wait 15 minutes to make sure there are no unwanted reactions. Health care workers will be there to monitor these people.

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Many who were able to book online appointments were hoping to receive a confirmation email or SMS confirmation, but Samantha Epstein, of the health department, said that would not happen, although they strive to make the process more efficient.

“We understand that the online dating system raises questions and concerns. We would like to thank the community for their patience as we continue to work to make this process more efficient, ”she wrote to News4Jax on Friday.

She added these notes on making the date, which they hope to reopen this week:

• We have found that people make multiple appointments online. Do not do this because it takes away the system and takes away time slots from others.
• Make sure you select a date and time before submitting your form. If there is no date / time 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) once the appointment is set. You will NOT receive a confirmation email. Please take a screenshot of the confirmation message to be kept for your records, although it is not necessary to receive the vaccine.

The link to make an appointment – jax.readyop.com/fs/4cc6/8521 – will remain at duval.floridahealth.gov. People will be asked to enter their name, email, phone number and date of birth to reserve 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 their 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 borders. It is provided by the federal government, ”said Dr. Pauline Rolle, executive medical director of the Duval County State Department of Health. “We provide it for free and so even if you are not a resident of Duval you can still be vaccinated through us, but keep in mind that other countries will be expanding their vaccination efforts, so we encourage them. people to get vaccinated in their own counties, but we will certainly serve anyone in any county.