Hundreds of people trickled in-and-out of the new Gateway Mall COVID-19 vaccination site on Wednesday, the first day it was up and running. For hours, the venue operated with little to no line. Then, 6 p.m. rolled around. Everything changed.
Following a flurry of misinformation on social media posts and by word of mouth, a line formed, hundreds deep at the federally run vaccine site — at one point, almost reaching the plaza's Winn-Dixie grocery store, nearly 600 feet away.
Masked up, a line of Jaxsons waited under the glow of the plaza's blue neon light, hoping for a chance inside the pop-up white tents and a stroke of good luck. But it didn't totally pan out.