After the registration list to receive COVID-19 vaccine quickly filled up last week, the Florida Department of Health – Osceola County said a second supply should arrive “very shortly.”
On Monday morning, registered individuals sat in two rows of vehicles that stretched across the Florida Department of Health-Osceola campus at 1875 Fortune Road. The first shipment of Moderna was made available on Dec. 28 to people over the age 65 and to frontline healthcare workers.
The Florida Department of Health-Osceola said 536 people were vaccinated over the next two days, but then it temporarily closed registration for the vaccination on Wednesday because of the limited supply.
“We will be receiving an additional allocation very shortly,” said Jeremy Lanier, public information officer for the Osceola health department.
The agency received about 3,000 vaccinations for in the first shipment.
“We’ll be getting a little bit more than that hopefully in this next receipt of vaccines,” said Lanier.
Residents can monitor updates of vaccine availability at http://osceola. floridahealth.gov/.
After the news was released to the public that the vaccine was available, callers trying to make a reservation inundated the health department. The phone lines were jammed and many couldn’t get through right away.
“I can tell you, thousands and thousands of people were calling,” Lanier said. “The demand was a little more than we expected.”
Lanier highlighted that Osceola’s population number is about 370,000.
“I would imagine a good chunk of that is 65 and up,” he said.
He also added that the supply number was not just for Osceola County as anyone could make an appointment.
“We are not limited to providing vaccinations to just people who are Osceola County residents,” Lanier said. “This is supplied by the government so we provide as needed, we don’t hold back any vaccines.”
The health department then rolled out an email option to help with the registration process. Individuals can email Osceola.Health@flhealth. gov, and use the subject line: Vaccine.
Enter your first name, last name, and telephone number in the body. Do not enter any other personal health information.
When the next vaccine supply arrives, the health department will be launching Microsoft Bookings.
“It’s a much more easy-to-use system to those who may not be technologically advanced,” said Lanier.
Individuals will be able to go to the health department website and use the new system to book their own reservations by finding a time slot that works for them.
After the first vaccination, you must get a second shot about three weeks later for it to be effective. The two Moderna vaccine injections be consistent, because you can’t mix different vaccines.
Also, be prepared to wait at the vaccination site about 15 minutes after getting the shot so staff can monitor for any allergic reactions.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, side effects may feel like flu, but they should go away soon.
Meanwhile, testing for COVID-19 has been moved from the health department to the Valencia College campus, 1800 Denn John Lane, Monday through Saturday, from 8 a.m. to noon through Jan. 30.
There was no timeline on when the vaccination would be made available to the general public as Gov. Ron DeSantis said the focus now is on the elderly.
“As we get into the general community, the vaccines are going to be targeted where the risk is greatest – that is our elderly population,” the governor said at a recent press conference at The Villages.
As more vaccine shipments arrive, Lanier said the health department could start setting up mobile units across Osceola to help senior citizens who are homebound.
Individuals are still being asked to practice personal prevention measures such as cloth-face coverings, social distancing, regular hand washing, covering coughs and sneezes and sanitizing commonly used surfaces.
“The vaccine isn’t the magic bullet,” Lanier said. “It has to be used in combination with the CDC personal prevention measures.”
