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PUBLISHED 10:15 PM ET Feb. 18, 2021 PUBLISHED February 18, 2021 @10:15 PM
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ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. The Orange County Health Department is expanding vaccine distribution capacity at the Convention Center. Starting Monday, February 22, they will be able to give up to 3,000 doses daily.
The increased capacity does not mean the county can expand who is eligible.
“It’s largely going to be, I think, a federal and state decision with local input about expanding the eligible group of individuals,” said Mayor Jerry Demings.
When asked for his opinion on who should get the vaccine next, Orange County Department of Health Director Dr. Raul Pino said, “If I had a choice, I would be prioritizing law enforcement and teachers, but again, I do not make those decisions.”
Rockland/Westchester Journal News
County health departments again were expected to receive one-dose Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccinations this week as well as mRNA vaccines that require two doses weeks apart.
In Week 14 of COVID vaccine distribution, pharmacies and Federally Qualified Health Centers were expected to receive the two-dose mRNA vaccines made by Moderna and Pfizer.
People age 60 and over can book vaccine appointments at any location that administers them, including state-run vaccination sites.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo last week said vaccine eligibility would expand as of March 17 to more essential public employees, as will public-facing building workers.
As of March 17, the state would also ease restrictions on who could receive shots from certain vaccine providers. Providers, except for pharmacies, would be able to vaccinate any eligible New Yorker.
| 18 Jan 2021 | 03:02 West Milford, N.J., resident Coty DeFreese takes a selfie while getting vaccinated on Jan. 7. Since states began expanding eligibility the week of Monday, Jan. 11, area residents have struggled to find available COVID-19 vaccination appointments. Photo provided.
There are not enough COVID-19 doses across the Tri-State area to vaccinate those who are currently eligible. The shortage, combined with a lack of streamlined information regarding where and how to obtain a vaccine appointment, has left residents scrambling.
The level of anxiety surrounding the lack of vaccines hearkens back to spring 2020’s grocery shortages, when residents were rolling up to stores at opening in hopes to find fresh meat, Lysol wipes, or a few rolls of toilet paper.