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

JACKSONVILLE, Florida. – As of Monday, Duval County residents aged 65 and over, frontline health professionals and first responders will be able to be vaccinated for COVID-19 at two Jacksonville senior centers – not by consultation, but with based on month of birth.

Vaccines will still be given by appointment at the Prime Osborn Convention Center, but demand for appointments has exceeded supply – which is likely to continue in the near future. In response, the city announced last week that it was converting elderly centers in Mandarin and the Westside from COVID-19 test sites to sites for receiving the vaccine.

Slowly but surely, vaccine distribution plans are expanding to different locations in the city and the state.

“If you look this week, we are taking 50,000 to 60,000 photos in the state of Florida,” said Governor Ron DeSantis. “We will do a lot more when we have more vaccines.”

Even with the availability of more vaccines, doctors in the area say that this process needs to be more organized.

“There is no coordinated plan to vaccinate 800,000 people from a priority perspective and there is no equity in the system,” said Dr. Jeffery Goldhagen, head of community pediatrics at UF Health.

All patients must provide a photo ID showing their date of birth and proof of residence in Duval County. Rescuers and health professionals must also bring a work badge.

Although vaccinations are given on a first come, first served basis (no appointment required), eligible residents should only visit a vaccination site on the day associated with the month of birth based on the following calendar:

• 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 am to 7 pm, Monday to Saturday:

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

Between the two locations, the city expects to vaccinate just under 1,000 people a day with the Pfizer vaccine – Mandarin will provide 500 vaccines a day, while up to 475 vaccines will be distributed in Lane Wiley, according to the city. When the daily supply runs out, the remaining patients will have the option of returning on the designated day the following week or making an appointment with the Florida Department of Health for Prime Osborn.

After receiving the vaccine, patients must remain in place for at least 15 minutes to be monitored by health and emergency professionals for possible reactions. Based on medical history, some individuals may have to wait 30 minutes. Although allergic reactions to the COVID-19 vaccine are rare, the city said, this safety measure was taken as a precaution. Patients can choose to receive reminders by email and text about the second dose.

Prime Osborn is still by appointment only, but doctors say these three locations and hospitals will not be enough.

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

Goldhagen said there should be plans for primary schools, health, community and emergency operation centers to prepare to distribute the vaccine when supplies are 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 like CVS and Walgreens may soon have distribution plans, while DeSantis said advertisements about distributions at Publix locations are expected to arrive soon.

To assist in a safe and organized vaccination process, patients must follow the following guidelines:

• Masks must be worn at all times.
• The physical distance requirements must be followed at all times.
• People who are feeling ill should not go to the vaccination site.
• Patients must be in line no later than 6 pm
• Only caregivers can accompany patients who need assistance to the vaccination site.
• Patients must park in designated parking areas; patients cannot be abandoned.
• You will not be allowed to park and wait in line at night.
• Patients should follow traffic patterns and instructions from traffic monitors (is a map available at JaxReady.com/Virus?).

Patients must print and bring a DOH Vaccine Consent Screening Form completed at the vaccination site. The form is available at COJ.net/CovidVaccineForm.

The Department of Health in Duval County began giving the COVID-19 vaccine from Moderna on January 4 to anyone 65 years of age or older and health professionals who were able to make an appointment.

New appointments for the COVID-19 vaccine will be added via the online system every Thursday at 5 pm, the health department said. On Thursday, more than 400,000 people tried to connect to the Internet to schedule the new set of appointments, temporarily disrupting the site. All appointments were made in one hour.

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

If in doubt, citizens can visit JaxReady.com/Virus or call 630-CITY (2489) to contact a customer service representative.