How Jacksonville will distribute COVID-19 vaccines from Monday

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. The Department of Health in Duval County will begin Monday to have the COVID-19 vaccines from Moderna happy for anyone aged 65 and over and health workers to get an appointment on the first day.

A phone line opened Wednesday to book appointments was disrupted and could not connect the vast majority of people who called, causing frustration and anger. When the online scheduling went into effect just after 5pm on Thursday, it took less than 90 minutes before the rest of next week’s appointments were filled.

The vaccines will be given at the Prime Osborn Conference Center and 500 appointments are scheduled for Monday. The department hopes to eventually increase to 1,000 appointments each day. The vaccines are free and a second dose is needed to make it as effective as possible.

The Department of Health has released this information to people coming to be vaccinated:

• All individuals are expected to wear a face mask at all times and to distance themselves socially during the appointment.
• You must show an ID issued by the government
• There are no toilets available for use during the appointment.
• Walk-in is NOT allowed.

Officials hope that the extension of appointments and waiting times for each person will be limited. Completing the consent form (available online) will also speed up the process.

Seven lanes will be set up for people to come in on their appointment time to get the vaccine. Then they have to wait 15 minutes to make sure there are no adverse reactions. Healthcare workers will be there to monitor the people.

Many people who could book appointments online were hoping to get a confirmation email or a text confirmation, but Samantha Epstein at the health department said it would not happen even though they were in the process of to make more efficient.

‘We understand that there are questions and concerns about the online dating system. We want to thank the community for their patience as we continue to make the process more efficient, ‘she wrote to News4Jax on Friday, adding the following notes on discussion for discussions, which they hope to reopen next week:

• We have identified that people make several appointments online. Please do not do this as it will fall into the system and take time slots away from others.
• Make sure you choose a date and time before submitting your form. If the date / time slot is not available on the form, do not submit it. If you submit the form without a date / time slot, the form will be removed and you will have no appointment.
• You will see a confirmation message (pop-up) after the appointment is set. You WILL NOT receive a confirmation email. Take a snapshot of the confirmation message to preserve it, though it is not necessary to receive the vaccine.

The link to make an appointment – jax.readyop.com/fs/4cc6/8521 – will remain on duval.floridahealth.gov. People will be asked to enter their name, email address, phone number and date of birth to book their time. No insurance information is required.

Anyone 65 years and older and any health professional who has not yet received the COVID-19 vaccine can receive their first dose in Duval County. There is no residency requirement, although people are encouraged to get the vaccine in the country where they live.

‘This vaccine is not limited by borders. It is provided by the federal government, ”said Dr. Pauline Rolle, the medical executive director of the FDOH-Duval, said. ‘We offer it for free, so even if you are not a Duval resident, you can still be vaccinated by us, but keep in mind that other provinces will institute their vaccination efforts, so we encourage people to provinces to be vaccinated, but we will certainly serve any of any province. ”

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Some callers got the outgoing message from the health department and then got a quick busy signal or the call was abruptly terminated. Many callers received a message that the call could not be completed, or even that the line was out of order. Officials encouraged patience and kept trying.

“If you are over 65 and want to make an appointment for the COVID-19 vaccine, the health department in Duval says that the telephone lines work and that you should call 253-1140,” the city said on its Facebook on Wednesday. page written. ‘We receive a large number of calls, so callers may not get through immediately. We ask callers to carry us as we try to reach out to each individual. Every appointment matters to us. ”

News4Jax has heard of dozens of people frustrated by the inability to get through. A health care worker, who wished to remain anonymous, said she was able to book an appointment after calling 950 times over two hours.

“I made a plan ahead of time,” she said. “I had two cell phones and my business phone was set up on my computer, and I actually started calling a few minutes before 8am and just systematically flipped through each phone.”

When it comes to how fast she can make the appointment:

“The call itself probably lasted about one minute,” she said. “Set up the appointment and that’s it.”

The health worker says she has direct contact with potential COVID-19 patients on a daily basis.

‘Within our organization, some people have died secondarily as a result of COVID. ‘I have an older family member who lives in my house, and it’s important to get the vaccine for myself and eventually for him, and I know it will help protect us,’ she said.

Frontline workers at local hospitals first began receiving their shots in UF Health Jacksonville two weeks ago, followed by other medical centers. CVS and Walgreen’s are currently working with the state to vaccinate staff and residents at long-term care facilities.