TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — Leon County residents who are 65 and older will soon be able to get their first COVID-19 vaccination.
On Thursday, the Florida Department of Health in Leon County (DOH-Leon) will begin offering the vaccine to high-risk frontline health care workers and those age 65 and older.
To schedule your vaccination, you can call the Leon County COVID-19 Call Center at 850-404-6300 and choose option 1 to schedule an appointment.
As of Wednesday, health officials said hundreds of Leon County seniors now have appointments for COVID-19 vaccinations, although many did face some challenges with scheduling.
There were intermittent phone outages across the state on Tuesday due to high call volumes, impacting the Leon County COVID-19 vaccine call center.
They expect line outages to continue and urge eligible residents who are 65 and over to register online to complete the DOH-Leon Moderna vaccination appointment request form online here.
Appointments will be accepted based on vaccine availability.
The call center is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., though the DOH-Leon main offices will be closed Dec. 31 and Jan. 1 in observance of the New Year holiday.
COVID-19 vaccination appointments will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Residents are asked to please bring government-issued identification, and to anticipate some possible delays.
Eligible residents who sign up to receive the vaccination at the health department will receive the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine.
"I am confident this vaccine and the others in development, will stop the spread of the virus and save lives," said Leon County Health Department’s Health Officer Claudia Blackburn. "It is going to take some time for most of the population to get vaccinated. In the meantime, it is critically important we all keep wearing our masks, practicing social distancing, washing our hands frequently, and staying home if we are sick.”
The vaccinations will be administered via a series of drive-through clinics at DOH-Leon's Administration Building located at 2965 Municipal Way.
According to the Florida Department of Health, the total number of Leon County residents who have been vaccinated so far stands at just over one thousand.
For the latest updates on COVID-19 vaccine activity in Florida click here.
