Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry on Thursday announced his plan to administer second doses of coronavirus vaccines to people who have received their first shots at the now-shuttered Lane Wiley and Mandarin senior center sites.
Patients will receive reminder phone calls the day before their second dose, Curry said, and will need to bring identification and the shot record they received at their first appointment.
To ensure social distancing and prevent patients waiting in long lines, the city has arranged for patients to arrive during specific time frames 21 days after their first dose, according to the first letters of their last name.
Those windows are as follows:
- Last names beginning with A through D: between 9 and 10 a.m.
- Last names beginning with E through H: between 10 and 11 a.m.
- Last names beginning with I through L: between 11 a.m. and 12 p.m.
- Last names beginning with M through P: between 12 and 1 p.m.
- Last names beginning with Q through T: between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m
- Last names beginning with U, V or W: between 2 pm and 3 p.m.
- Last name beginning with X, Y or Z: between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m.
Anyone who is not able to arrive in their allotted time is encouraged to arrive between 4 and 5 p.m.
“We’ve got it alphabetized to where we know what day they came to what time they came,” said Jacksonville Director of Community Dr. Charles Moreland. “If we scratch through that list and those individuals are not accounted for, we’re going to make a phone call or we may even go visit them. We’re really committed to making this work for the community. Getting that first shot is just a first step. We really need you to get that second shot.”
A total of 11,925 people received their initial coronavirus vaccine shots at the two senior centers before the city, which was running the site, announced last week it did not have the supply to continue offering first doses.
Curry said he expected the final second doses to be administered by February 12.
In Florida and across the nation, vaccine distribution has been hampered by supply shortages and logistical challenges. Since the closure or the city-run sites, the Regency Square mall became the primary vaccination site for people who are currently eligible.
“I would like our city sites to be able to operate and distribute vaccine supply,” Curry said. “That said, I know the governor and his team are committed to getting this vaccine distributed as efficiently as possible, and if we get vaccines at more Publixes or any other site in this county or city and they can vaccinate people, I’m going to cheerlead and be happy about it, because that means more people will be safe.”
Contact Sydney Boles at sboles@wjct.org or on Twitter @sydneyboles.
