Orange County launches plan to vaccinate over 65 residents at the Convention Center

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – Orange County leaders revealed the plan to vaccinate older residents and keep the community informed about broader COVID-19 vaccination plans that include a website, application, text, email and community centers.

The Orange County Health Department began administering injections for paramedics and paramedics at the Orange County Convention Center on Saturday.

Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings said that as of Tuesday, people 65 and older can start receiving their vaccinations at the Orange County Convention Center between 8 am and 9 pm.

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Residents can register at OCFL.net/vaccines, where they can also sign up for email updates to learn more about vaccine distribution. Here is the direct link to register and this link contains step-by-step registration instructions.

Orange County health officer Dr. Raul Pino said that people who make an appointment will receive text and email reminders and, when it’s time to go back for the second dose, they will receive reminders again. Residents will make an appointment for the second dose on the spot as soon as they receive the first.

The county will provide text updates if people send SMS to OCFLCOVID at 888777. Leaders are also working to train 311 operators to provide COVID-19 vaccine updates. Downloading the OCFL Alert app is also recommended.

For those who do not have a smartphone or computer, community centers will offer to register the vaccine. In Orange County, the community centers in East Orange, Taft, Holden Heights and Center Hills will have staff available to help people age 65 and older register for vaccination appointments.

In Orlando, Beardall Senior Center on Delaney Avenue and L. Claudia Allen Senior Center on Mable Butler Avenue will be available to assist with the registration of residents, according to Orlando Mayor, Buddy Dyer.

“The vaccine will take some time to implement and we know it will take several months for everyone to have access,” said Dyer. “Wear your mask, help prevent it from spreading.”

The goal is to vaccinate 1,500 residents a day at the Orange County Convention Center. Photos are free, but insurance information will be collected if the government can be reimbursed.

Pino said residents will receive the Moderna vaccine on site and then receive a card with a batch number, if that information is needed in the future.

“This card is important. The system will generate a card and file a card on the web page and you will get a physical card and our advice is that you take a picture of that card and save it on your mobile device, if you have one, so that in case you need it in the future, ”said Pino.

Those who receive the vaccine should wait a 15-minute observation period to ensure that they do not experience an adverse reaction. Pino said he had not heard of anyone having a reaction, but doctors and paramedics will be on hand to administer help if necessary.

As for other tips, Pino suggested driving slowly and carefully around the site and being patient, as it will take a while before vaccines are available to the general population.

“So, what we’re asking you to do is just be patient, we’ll get to you. We are doing everything we can to vaccinate as many people as possible as quickly as possible, ”said Pino.

Also from Tuesday, mobile pods will go to certain section nine housing developments to vaccinate residents there. Pino said the effort is to ensure that low-income residents of central Florida have access to the vaccine.

“We are interested in having access to minorities, people of color, individuals with socioeconomic difficulties in our society, as well as people who do not have access to health services or service providers. Therefore, these mobile pods will focus on this type of population to have access to them, ”said Pino.

On Monday, neighboring Seminole County also started vaccinating people over 65. The vaccine site is located within the Oviedo Mall and residents must also make an appointment.

For more Central Florida County vaccine distribution plans, click here.