Renzo Downey
Gov. Ron DeSantis‘ office on Wednesday announced three new COVID-19 vaccination sites in Miami, Jacksonville and Tampa, each able to vaccinate at least 1,000 seniors per day.
University Mall in Tampa will be an entirely new site. Sites at Marlins Park and the Regency Square Mall in Jacksonville are already coronavirus test sites and will continue offering tests.
The three state-supported sites are part of the state’s “Seniors First” plan to give the state’s older population several options to get a shot.
All three sites will be open seven days a week, while vaccines remain in stock.
The Tampa site will offer 1,600 Pfizer vaccine doses each day to people 65 years old and older, as well as front line health care workers. Those groups also have access to 1,000 Pfizer shots daily at both the Miami and Jacksonville sites.
The Marlins Park site will operate 8 a.m. — 3 p.m., the Regency Square Mall site will operate 9 a.m. — 5 p.m. and the University Mall site will operate 8 a.m. — 4 p.m.
Vaccine supply issues have plagued the state and the nation. DeSantis warned Floridians Tuesday that the state is giving out more shots than it receives on a weekly basis.
“We are certainly going to run into a situation soon where we’re not getting as many full doses as we need,” he told reporters.
After receiving their first vaccination, individuals will be contacted to arrange a time to receive their second dose. For the Pfizer formula, the booster shot should come three weeks later.
People must preregister for appointments, available over the phone. Those with appointments are encouraged to bring a government-issued ID and health insurance information to the site.
For Marlins Park, call 1-888-499-0840, TTY 1-888-256-8918. For Regency Square Mall in Jacksonville, call 1-866-200-3762, TTY 833-476-1027. For University Mall, call 1-866-200-3896, TTY 1-833-476-1029.
Florida is also leaning on Publix to make vaccines available to seniors. By Thursday, 242 of the state’s nearly 750 Publix pharmacies will offer up to 125 shots per day by appointment only.
Those Publixes are scattered throughout the state, including in Lee and Palm Beach counties, where all Publixes are offering shots.
Already, 105 Publix sites are offering shots. That effort has mostly targeted medium-sized counties with large elderly populations.
