7,000 appointments filled in minutes

High demand amid opening to people 40 and over

It took just 13 minutes on Monday for 7,000 vaccine appointments to fill after Orange County opened up shots for people 40 and older, officials said.

“That’s good news,” Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings said. “That speaks to the demand.”

He noted the drive-through vaccination site at the Orange County Convention Center had repeatedly fallen far short of its goal of inoculating 3,000 people a day when state eligibility guidelines limited vaccines to people 65 years or older, health workers with direct patient contact, and teachers, law enforcement officers, firefighters and paramedics. On Monday, Gov. Ron DeSantis lowered the age to 50 or older.

Demings’ decision ignited terse words between he and DeSantis, who championed a “Seniors First” approach, but the mayor shrugged it off Monday.

“I think it’s a responsible thing to have increased the potential eligible pool of individuals,” Demings said, adding he did not expect backlash from the governor. “My goal is to not make this a personal issue. This is about the life, health and safety of individuals in our community... My passion here is not meant to be at odds with the governor. It is to move the governor in a direction to do what I believe is the right thing for the people of our community, and I’m going to continue to do that. I will not be apologetic about that.”

Demings said he has been lobbied by postal carriers, hospitality workers and theme-park unions to make them eligible, too.

But he suggested he was not yet prepared to open the appointment portal any wider for now.

“The good news is the President of the United States says that he wants all Americans who are adults to have access to the vaccine by May 1,” Demings said.

He pointed out President Joe Biden vowed to vaccinate 100 million Americans in the first 100 days of his administration, a mark achieved in 60 days.

About 8.6% of Orange County’s 1.4 million residents have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.

“We have a long way to go,” Demings said. About 61% of people age 60 or older in the county have been vaccinated, said Alvina Chu, epidemiology program manager for the state Health Department in Orange.

Neither she nor Demings could say how many vaccine doses are available daily in the county as a variety of sites operate without regularly disclosing numbers publicly.

Demings said when he has asked state officials, he gets “fuzzy numbers.”

He said Orange County paramedics will visit homebound people in neighborhoods where health data shows vaccinations lagging.

The “laser focus” as he called it is intended to address systematic inequities in minority areas.

“We’re trying to level that playing field,” he said.

Through as partnership with the state, the county dispatched paid canvassers to go door-to-door to see if eligible residents wanted the vaccine.

Canvasser Aiesha Patton said most people have been thankful for the outreach effort in under-served Black neighborhoods.

But a few don’t want to be bothered. Patton said one residence had a sign in the window that read, “If you don’t have the vaccine, don’t knock on my door.”

Another vaccination site opened Monday at the South Trail Library, 4600 South Orange Blossom Trail, and should operate for at least six weeks while supplies last.

FEMA also is running a mobile vaccination site at the South Orange Youth Sports Complex, 11800 S. Orange Ave. No appointments are necessary.