Alachua County leaders outline COVID-19 vaccination plan
Gainesville City Commission approves plan for distributing vaccine at first meeting of the year January 9, 2021 | 7:32pm EST
Mike Foley, UF journalism professor, receives his first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine on Jan. 5, 2021. Photo by Chasity Maynard | The Independent Florida Alligator
Gainesville is still a month or two away from having the COVID-19 vaccine becoming widely available, but city leaders are starting to make plans for when it is.
The Gainesville City Commission voted unanimously Thursday to pass a four-part plan that will help the Alachua County Health Department mass administer the COVID-19 vaccination.
The Gainesville Sun Editorial Board
Life expectancy shouldn’t be determined by someone’s ZIP code. But where a person lives often dictates whether they have access to health care, which can make the difference in whether conditions get treated before they become life-threatening.
Residents of the 32609 and 32641 ZIP codes are much more likely to have an avoidable hospitalization than people living in other parts of Alachua County. The two ZIP codes also have the county’s highest rates for emergency room visits for dental and mental health issues, according to the 2020 Alachua County Community Health Assessment.
The two ZIP codes cover much of east Gainesville, including neighborhoods east of Waldo Road that lack urgent care centers or free-standing clinics other than the Alachua County Health Department. A survey of more than 1,000 residents of the area found that residents faced problems getting health care caused by high costs, a lack of insurance, transportation issues an