More turn out at virus vaccine site
Age limit eligibility for COVID-19 shot lowered to 50 years old
Activity picked up Monday at the FEMA vaccine site at Valencia College’s west campus as Floridians 50 and older became eligible for the shot and news emerged that the site, which had been slated to stop offering first doses Wednesday, would instead continue for two more weeks with a reduced amount.
Initially, the federal site expected to shift Wednesday to offering only second-dosages to people who already received shots there, but the Florida Department of Emergency Management said Monday it had the supply to administer 500 first dosages per day through April 7.
Lines began at 7 a.m. Monday, before the site opened, with a new bloc of Floridians eligible under an executive order issued last week by Gov. Ron DeSantis lowering the age of eligibility to 50 years old.
There were indications of demand surging throughout the area Monday, as people 40 and older could book appointments at the Orange County Convention
Center, where 7,000 appointments were booked within 13 minutes.
“The turnout is higher,” said Andrea Schuch, a state spokeswoman representing the Valencia site. “People worried about having to wait in long lines, that is not the case. It moves very, very quickly.”
Robert Pace, 56, said he was surprised how efficient the operation was, despite the uptick. He decided to try the site after becoming eligible Monday and said the longest part was the brief observation period required following the shot.
“I was really happy when the age
limit dropped to 50, so the first day, I wanted to try to get it,” he said. “It’s been a scary time, so I’m really relieved.”
Laura Magdeburger, 53 of Celebration, shared that feeling. She’s the caretaker for her mother who has cancer, leaving her extremely vulnerable to the virus.
Magdeburger said she’d been frustrated by trying to register for appointments at various sites and was happy to be able to drive north to the Orlando college campus, where U.S. Army personnel have been giving thousands of inoculations per day in air-conditioned tents in the parking lot.
By Monday afternoon, the state had altered plans for the site going forward, extending the availability of first doses for two weeks.
Still, the site is now expected to only offer second shots from April 7 to April 14, and then offer the Johnson & Johnson one-shot cocktail from April 14 to April 28. Beyond that date, a final decision hasn’t been made about the future of the site, which was originally slated to stay open for eight weeks.
State and local officials have recently reported lagging enthusiasm for the vaccines, with the demand diminishing at sites around the state.
Officials had attributed that in part to the surge of seniors who have been vaccinated so far — nearly 5 million statewide — shrinking the eligible pool, which has prompted calls for Gov. Ron DeSantis to expand eligibility to younger people or workers in high-risk jobs.
Last week, Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings broke with the governor by announcing he would lower the minimum age at the Orange County Convention Center to 40, in hopes of boosting appointment registrations.
DeSantis criticized Demings for the move, but the state didn’t intervene.
In metro Orlando alone, nearly 500,000 have been inoculated with at least one dose among Orange, Osceola, Seminole and Lake counties.
Stacy Heffner, 53 of east Orange County, was added to that tally around noon Monday, hours after becoming eligible.
She expected to book an appointment Monday and have to wait weeks to be inoculated. But after driving to the FEMA site, about 30 minutes later, she was leaving with her first dosage of Pfizer and a second appointment booked.
“It was easier than I thought it would be,” she said.