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

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. Beginning Monday, residents of Duval County 65 and older, primary care medical workers, and first responders can get vaccinated for COVID-19 at two Jacksonville senior centers – not by appointment, but based on month of birth.

Vaccinations will still be given by appointment at the Prime Osborn Convention Center, but the demand for appointments is greater than the supply – which is likely to continue for the foreseeable future. In response, the city announced last week that it would convert senior centers in Mandarin and on the west side of COVID-19 test sites to places to receive the vaccine.

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

“If you watch this week, we’re doing 50,000 to 60,000 shots in the state of Florida,” said Governor Ron DeSantis. “We’re going to do a lot more if we get more vaccines.”

Even as more vaccines become available, local doctors say this process should be better organized.

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

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

While vaccinations are given on a first-come, first-served basis (no appointment required), eligible residents are only allowed to visit a vaccination site on the day associated with their month of birth based on 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 are open Monday to Saturday from 11am to 7pm:

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

Between the two sites, the city hopes to vaccinate just under 1,000 people with the Pfizer vaccine every day – Mandarin will provide 500 vaccines a day, while up to 475 vaccines will be distributed in Lane Wiley, according to the city. When daily supplies run out, the remaining patients have the option to come back on the assigned day the following week or schedule an appointment with the Florida Department of Health for the Prime Osborn location.

After receiving the vaccine, patients should remain on site for at least 15 minutes to be monitored for possible reactions by healthcare professionals and rescuers. Some people may need to wait 30 minutes based on their medical history. While allergic reactions to the COVID-19 vaccine are rare, the city said, this safety precaution has been taken with an abundance of caution. Patients can choose to receive email and SMS reminders of their second dose.

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

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

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

“In minorities 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 could have distribution plans soon, while DeSantis said announcements about distributions at Publix locations should come soon.

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

• Masks should always be worn.
• Physical distance requirements must be adhered to at all times.
• People who feel sick should not go to a vaccination site.
• Patients must queue no later than 6:00 pm
• Only caregivers may accompany patients who require assistance to a vaccination site.
• Patients must park in the designated parking areas; patients cannot be deposited.
• Parking and waiting in line at night is not permitted.
• Patients should follow traffic patterns and instructions from traffic monitors (a map is available at JaxReady.com/Virus?).

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

The Duval County Department of Health began giving Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine to anyone 65 and older and to health professionals who could get an appointment on Jan. 4.

New appointments for the COVID-19 vaccine will be added through the online system every Thursday at 5:00 PM, the health department said. On Thursday, more than 400,000 people tried to get online to book the new series of appointments, causing the website to temporarily crash. All appointments were booked within an hour.

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

For questions, citizens can visit JaxReady.com/Virus or call 630-CITY (2489) to be connected to a customer service representative.