More than 211,000 Florida residents have been vaccinated against the deadly COVID-19 virus, but in Lake County those wishing to be inoculated will have to do so on a first-come, first-served basis.
The county set up a vaccination clinic at Lake-Sumter State College on Friday morning that quickly ran out of necessary doses and closed around noon. The county originally scheduled appointments for these much-advertised vaccines, but is no longer doing so, according to a statement from the health department.
Those with pre-booked times can come to college on Saturday or to the Clermont Arts and Recreation Center at 3700 S. Hwy. 27, according to the health department’s Twitter feed. Vaccination stations are scheduled to operate from 9 am to 4 pm, depending on availability.
“Our goal in this first phase is to safely and quickly distribute all vaccines allocated in Lake County,” said Aaron Kissler, administrator for the Department of Health in Lake County. “We recognize that the order-of-arrival approach has its disadvantages, but it is the one that best supports our primary goal of offering immunization to as many people as possible.”
Because of the rapid disbursement of vaccines, Lake County is expected to receive a shipment of Pfizer vaccines next week. Lake County commissioners purchased a deep-frozen freezer in early December that will accommodate storage of the vaccine, which must be kept at -60 to -80 degrees.
So far, more than 40,000 Marion County residents have signed up for COVID-19 vaccinations. Health department employees were busy on Friday calling residents to schedule appointments for the following week. Residents of Marion County who wish to apply for vaccines can click HERE.
The drive-through test of COVID-19 will also take place in the next two weeks, on a first-come, first-served basis, at the Southeast Cattle Pavilion in Ocala. The free trial will be available from 10 am to noon on January 5th and 6th and again on January 12th and 13th.
No new information was available on vaccines in Sumter County on Friday. The county health department that contains the vast majority of Villages’ homes announced last Wednesday that it had received 2,500 doses of the Moderna vaccine – not nearly enough to vaccinate its more than 130,000 residents. Sumter County residents can call (352) 569-3102 starting Monday, January 4, to make an appointment.
Meanwhile, the Florida Department of Health did not release its daily COVID-19 updates on Friday because of the New Year’s Day holiday. The reports will return on Saturday, January 2, according to a tweet from the state health department. The department also did not release reports on Thanksgiving or Christmas.
The lack of up-to-date information comes a day after Florida reported its biggest jump in the number of new COVID-19 cases since the pandemic hit the state last spring. In all, the Sunshine State reported 1,323,315 COVID-19 cases on Thursday – an increase of 17,192 over the previous day. Of these, 1,300,528 were listed as residents. A total of 64,835 cases were reported in long-term care centers and 27,337 in correctional facilities. Across the state, there were 21,990 deaths and 62,868 people were hospitalized.
On Thursday, the three counties area reported 38,443 cases – an increase of 840 over a 24-hour period. There were 878 deaths and 2,714 people were treated in hospitals in the area.
Thursday’s breakdown of local counties included:
SUMTER COUNTY
- Cases: 5,085 – increase of 134
- Kills: 120
- Hospitalizations: 378
- Areas / cities with the most cases: The Villages (2,128), Coleman (732), Wildwood (682), Bushnell (556) and Oxford (286).
LAKE COUNTY
- Cases: 15,559 – increase of 358
- Kills: 295
- Hospitalizations: 995
- Cities with more cases: Clermont (4,140), Leesburg (2,483), Eustis (1,259), Mount Dora (1,202) and Tavares (1,169). Villages were reporting 104 cases.
MARION COUNTY
- Cases: 17,799 – increase of 348
- Kills: 463
- Hospitalizations: 1,341
- Cities with more cases: Ocala (13,340), Summerfield (1,026), Dunnellon (770), Belleview (708) and Silver Springs (304). Villages were reporting 58 cases.