First-come, first-served COVID-19 vaccinations begin Monday at two Jacksonville senior centers

JACKSONVILLE, Florida – Starting Monday, residents of Duval County aged 65 and over, frontline medical workers and first responders will be able to get vaccinated against COVID-19 at two senior centers in Jacksonville – not by appointment you but according to the month of birth.

Vaccinations will still be given by appointment at the Prime Osborn Convention Center, but demand for an appointment has outstripped supply – which will likely continue for the near future. In response, the city announced last week that it was converting senior centers into Mandarin and on the west side of COVID-19 testing sites into places to receive the vaccine.

Slowly but steadily, plans to distribute vaccines are spreading to different sites in the city and state.

“If you look at this week, we’re doing 50,000 to 60,000 hits in the state of Florida,” Gov. Ron DeSantis said. “We’re going to do a lot more when we have more vaccines.”

Even as more vaccines become available, doctors in the region say this process needs to be more organized.

“There is no coordinated plan to vaccinate 800,000 people on a priority basis and no equity is established in the system,” said Dr Jeffery Goldhagen, chief of community pediatrics at UF Health.

All patients must provide photo ID showing their date of birth and proving their residence in Duval County. First responders and healthcare workers should also bring a work badge.

Although vaccinations are given on a first come, first served basis (no appointment necessary), eligible residents should only visit a vaccination site on the day associated with their month of birth, according to the following schedule:

• Monday – January and February
• Tuesday – March and April
• Wednesday – May and June
• Thursday – July and August
• Friday – September and October
• Saturday – November and December

These two vaccination sites will be open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday to Saturday:

• Mandarin Seniors Center, 3848 Hartley Road
• Lane Wiley Seniors Center, 6710 Wiley Road

Between the two sites, the city hopes to vaccinate just under 1,000 people each day with the Pfizer vaccine – Mandarin will provide 500 vaccines per day, while up to 475 vaccines will be distributed in Lane Wiley, according to the city. When the daily supply is depleted, remaining patients will have the option of returning on their assigned day the following week or making an appointment with the Florida Department of Health for the Prime Osborn site.

After receiving the vaccine, patients should remain on site for at least 15 minutes to be monitored for potential reactions by healthcare professionals and emergencies. Depending on the medical history, some people may have to wait 30 minutes. Although allergic reactions to the COVID-19 vaccine are rare, the city said, this safety measure is in place out of caution. Patients will be able to choose to receive email and SMS reminders regarding their second dose.

Prime Osborn is still by appointment only, but medics say those three locations and hospitals won’t be enough.

“The idea that we are going to depend on them to implement our vaccination campaign is just not a viable plan to vaccinate over 800,000 people and do it fairly,” Goldhagen said.

Goldhagen said there should be plans in place for elementary schools, health, community and emergency operations centers to prepare to distribute the vaccine when supplies become available.

“In minority and low-income communities, in the same context that we have a food desert, we also have pharmacy deserts,” he said.

Pharmacies such as CVS and Walgreens may have distribution plans soon, while DeSantis said announcements regarding distributions on Publix sites should be available soon.

To facilitate a safe and organized vaccination process, patients should adhere to the following guidelines:

• Masks must be worn at all times.
• Physical distance requirements must be observed at all times.
• People who feel ill should not go to a vaccination site.
• Patients must be online no later than 6 p.m.
• Only caregivers can accompany patients requiring assistance to a vaccination site.
• Patients must park in designated parking areas; patients cannot be dropped off.
• Overnight parking and queuing will not be allowed.
• Patients should follow traffic patterns and instructions from traffic monitors (a map is available at JaxReady.com/Virus?).

Patients should print and bring a completed DOH vaccine screening and consent form to the vaccination site. The form is available on COJ.net/CovidVaccineForm.

The Duval County State Department of Health began administering Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine on January 4 to anyone 65 years of age and older and to healthcare workers who have been able to secure an appointment.

New appointments for the COVID-19 vaccine will be added through the online system every Thursday at 5 p.m., the health department said. More than 400,000 people attempted to go online to book the new round of dates on Thursday, temporarily blocking the website. All appointments were made within an hour.

The health department said the link will change weekly and will be posted on the alerts page on the department’s website: duval.floridahealth.gov.

If you have any questions, citizens can visit JaxReady.com/Virus or call 630-CITY (2489) to be put in touch with a customer service representative.