Dozens walked away from the Edward Waters College vaccine site

JACKSONVILLE, Florida. – Dozens of people who made an appointment to get the COVID-19 vaccine at Edward Waters College’s new community site on Friday morning were refused because they were allowed to pre-register, although they did not meet the qualifications.

The medical team that runs the site said that its digital registration program allows people to apply without age-appropriate pre-selection. Currently, in Florida, only people aged 65 and over and healthcare professionals are being prioritized for the COVID-19 vaccine.

Because of the error, dozens of people signed up through the online system, received a QR code confirmation and were instructed to go to the vaccine site and present this code to receive the vaccine. The Agape Family Health Center team told News4Jax that the registration system did not notify people who were not old enough or profession enough to qualify under current guidelines.

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Governor Ron DeSantis visited the EWC on Thursday to announce a new COVID-19 vaccination site in the former James Weldon Johnson Middle School gym on campus. The state website will offer 200 vaccines a day, seven days a week, and will target Northwest Jacksonville residents, DeSantis said.

The employees responsible for the site encouraged people to register online, but people can also arrange a meeting in person.

Mia Jones, CEO of Agape, which is helping the state manage the site, said New Town residents will have priority. The registration will be based on the postal code.

The school site was one of six COVID-19 vaccination sites that opened on Thursday to provide greater access to the vaccine for underprivileged populations in Broward, Duval, Leon, Miami-Dade and Osceola counties.

“This site is especially important for our elderly in northwest Jacksonville and we are extremely pleased that the EWC will continue its legacy as an important and impacting resource for all citizens of our city, especially our New Town residents, many of whom represent a demographic. disproportionately impacted by this horrible COVID-19 virus, ”said EWC President Dr. A. Zachary Faison Jr ..

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DeSantis said on Thursday that the age of Florida residents who can receive the coronavirus vaccine will be reduced “sometime in March”.

“I said from the beginning that we are going to decrease the age, and as soon as we are in a situation where the elderly are being cared for, you know, we will try to do that,” DeSantis said. “So it will happen, I would say, without a doubt, taking out any problems with the distribution of the vaccine, you will see the younger age sometime in March, for sure.”

The visit to Jacksonville comes just days after DeSantis announced that police and class teachers over 50 will have the opportunity to be vaccinated at federal locations that will open in the state next week, including one in Jacksonville.

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“We think we can do this with the additional vaccine without affecting the elderly population,” said DeSantis.

Desantis responded on Wednesday with criticism that his government did not define its priority group for the next phase of the vaccine’s launch, unlike other states.

“If you notice, many of these people have adopted plans and have already had to change their plans. We didn’t do that. We analyzed the ACIP and CDC recommendations and, respectively, we rejected those recommendations and said that we are putting our seniors first, ”said DeSantis.

DeSantis said on Wednesday that his government did not want to open vaccines for more groups and had no supply to meet demand.

“We will do this based on local facts and circumstances. Based on the availability of the vaccine and progress towards reaching the population aged 65 and over, ”said DeSantis.