Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry announced Tuesday the city would run out of its existing doses of coronavirus vaccines by the end of the day Thursday.
Those who have received their first doses will receive their scheduled second doses, Curry said, but he could not promise when new doses of the vaccine would arrive, or how many doses would be available.
“We stand ready to open more sites if - the ‘if’ is important - if the supply becomes available,” Curry said.
Vaccine distribution has vexed state and local officials as demand has far outpaced supply.
“The city of Jacksonville does not control the supply chain and what's available,” Curry said. “While the state of Florida determines who receives their weekly allotment and how much, they don't even know how much they will get on a week to week basis.”
Last week, Florida received a total of 275,000 doses, far fewer than the millions of seniors and hospital personnel who are eligible.
“We have alerted our state and federal partners that we have the capacity and infrastructure in place to continue offering the vaccine, and even expand our locations,” Curry said.
Curry could not say when or whether additional doses would be available at city-run vaccination sites at the Mandarin Senior Center and the Lane Wiley Senior Center, which are currently open Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
The city-run sites are expected to close by the end of the day Thursday, unless new does are received by then.
State-operated sites, including one at the Prime Osborn Convention Center and a soon-to-be-opened site at the Regency Square Mall, may continue to offer vaccinations to eligible residents by appointment only.
As of Tuesday morning, the city has vaccinated 8,000 people at its two vaccine sites since opening on January 11.
According to the latest data from the Florida Department of Health, there are 75,485 cases of COVID-19 in Duval County 856 deaths.
“We still at UF Health Jacksonville have 115 active patients in our hospital right now that are COVID positive. Twenty-five of those are in an ICU and 10 of those are on ventilators,” said UF Health CEO Dr. Leon Haley. “We are still very busy as a hospital practice.”
The city’s Mandarin site has been administering up to 500 vaccines per day while the Lane Wiley site can provide up to 475 shots per day.
Vaccines at the two city-run sites are only available to Duval County residents 65 and older, frontline medical workers and first responders. To get a vaccine, everyone must bring a vaccination screening and consent form and a photo ID that shows date of birth and proves Duval County residency. First responders and healthcare providers also need to bring a work ID badge.
Contact reporter Sydney Boles at sboles@wjct.org or on Twitter at @sydneyboles.
