Orange County plans to vaccinate 65+ residents at the convention center

ORANGE COUNTRY, Fla. Orange County leaders unveiled the plan to vaccinate older residents and keep the community informed of broader COVID-19 vaccination plans that include a website, app, text, email and community centers.

The Orange County Department of Health on Saturday fired shots at EMTs and paramedics at the Orange County Convention Center.

Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings said Tuesday people aged 65 and older begin their vaccinations at the Orange County Convention Center between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. Appointments are required and only Orange County residents are eligible.

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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 a direct link to register, and this link has step-by-step registration instructions.

The Orange County Health Officer, Dr. Raul Pino, said people who make an appointment will receive text and email reminders and when it’s time to return for their second dose, they will receive reminders again. Residents make an appointment for their second dose on the premises as soon as they receive the first dose.

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

For those without smartphones or computers, community centers offer registration for the vaccine. In Orange County, the community centers east of Orange, Taft, Holden Heights and Center Hills, staff will be available to help people 65 and older sign up for vaccine appointments.

In Orlando, the Beardall Senior Center in Delaney Avenue and L. Claudia Allen Senior Center in Mable Butler Avenue will be available to help residents register, according to Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer.

“Vaccine blasting will take a while and we know it will take a few months before everyone has access,” Dyer said. “Wear your mask, help stop the spread.”

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

Pino said residents will receive the Moderna vaccine on the premises and then receive a card with a lot number if the information is needed in the future.

‘The card is important. The system will generate a map and archive a map on the webpage, and you will get a physical map, and our advice is that you take a photo of the map and save it on your mobile device, if you have it , if you need it in the future, ”said Pino.

Those receiving the vaccine will have to wait for a period of 15 minutes to ensure that they have no adverse reaction. Pino said he has not yet heard anyone respond, but doctors and paramedics will be on hand to provide assistance if needed.

As for other tips, Pino suggested driving slowly and carefully through the yard and be patient as it will take a while before the shots are available to the general public.

‘So what we’re asking you to do is just be patient, we’ll contact you. We do everything in our power to vaccinate as many people as possible, ”said Pino.

From Tuesday, mobile pods will go to certain section nine housing complexes to vaccinate residents there. Pino said the effort is to ensure low-income Central Florida residents have access to the vaccine.

‘We are interested in access to minority, colored people, socio-economically challenged individuals in our society, as well as people who do not have access to health care or providers. These mobile pods will therefore focus on the type of population to have access to them, ‘said Pino.

On Monday, neighboring Seminole County also began vaccinating people over the age of 65. The vaccine is located in the Oviedo Mall and residents must also make appointments.

For more distribution plans for Central Florida, click here.