A new federal COVID-19 community vaccination site at the Gateway Town Center will open on March 1. It’s a partnership between FEMA and the Biden Administration and will be for residents 65 and up or healthcare workers. U.S. Rep. Al Lawson (D-FL5) of North Florida said Monday on First Coast Connect with Melissa Ross that he is glad to see more vaccination opportunities coming to local communities of color.
Related: Vaccination Center To Open At Gateway; Testing Resuming At Lane Wiley, Mandarin
Lawson’s colleague, Rep. Charlie Crist (D-FL13), wants a full DOJ investigation into allegations that Gov. Ron DeSantis is steering vaccination sites to more wealthy areas.
Lawson skirted the issue on First Coast Connect, saying politics should be left out of the picture.
“I don’t know whether there should be a full-scale investigation as much as we got the opportunity right now, coming up next week, boy, we can do [vaccinate] 3,000 people [a day] in Jacksonville. We’re going to be in great shape,” Lawson said.
Along with Jacksonville, the other new Community Vaccination Centers (CVCs) will be in Miami, Tampa and Orlando.
Duval County was identified as one of nine counties in the state with significantly underserved populations. The entire interview can be heard on Monday’s First Coast Connect with Melissa Ross, which encores at 8 p.m. on WJCT News 89.9.
Michelle Corum can be reached at mcorum@wjct.org, 904-358-6308 or on Twitter at @MCorumonME.
