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In a move aimed at boosting local vaccinations, the Florida Department of Health will host two walk-up clinics this week where appointments will not be required.
One of the clinics will take place Friday at the Martin Luther King Jr. Multipurpose Center, 1028 NE 14th St. in Gainesville from 9 a.m. to noon. The other will be Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Fellowship Church of High Springs, 16916 NW U.S. Highway 441.
The state’s vaccine report shows that 397 people received a dose of a COVID-19 vaccine locally Monday.
So far, 62,592 local residents have received both doses needed for maximum immunity and another 33,021 have received their first dose about 36% of the local population. Another 23.5% of residents are fully vaccinated.
Alachua County adds 45 COVID-19 cases Wednesday
Coronavirus vaccinations continue steadily in Alachua County, but the rate of new cases remains slightly higher than it was a month ago. However, virus hospitalizations are trending downward compared with last week.
The county reported 45 new virus cases in Tuesday s state health department report, for a total of 23,975. Local virus deaths remain at 262.
The two-week positivity rate for new cases is 2.8%, a slight drop in recent weeks.
Tuesday afternoon, 45 patients at Alachua County hospitals had a primary diagnosis of COVID-19 a slight decrease since last week, according to data from Florida’s Agency for Health Care Administration. Hospitals had about 15% available capacity, and overall bed availability has remained stable for the past month.
Strong storms that swept across the state Saturday and Sunday impacted the number of people who received COVID-19 vaccines and were tested for the virus, leading to lower than usual numbers on both accounts.
Paul Myers, administrator for the Florida Department of Health in Alachua County, said only about half of the 5,000 people signed up for a Saturday vaccine clinic at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium showed up for their appointments.
However, he said the people who missed the clinic will be contacted again and can reschedule.
Myers also said the department doesn’t prepare doses in syringes ahead of time so as not to waste them.
Veterans health system sees positive response for COVID-19 vaccines
Veterans health system sees positive response for COVID-19 vaccines By Jennifer Morejon | April 12, 2021 at 6:13 PM EDT - Updated April 12 at 8:09 PM
VALDOSTA, Ga. (WALB) - South Georgia Veterans Health System is vaccinating anyone who served in the military, their caregivers and spouses.
“We’ve had a lot of excitement and we’ve had a lot of interest thus far, giving over 80,000 vaccines to veterans and staff,” said David Waller, deputy chief of staff for VA North Florida and South Georgia Health System.
Waller said they anticipate more interest for vaccines.
“I know there has been some hesitancy with this process, there is still some unknown with this vaccine, but I’ll tell you our experience giving 80,000 doses, we’ve seen very few reactions,” said Waller.