Valencia’s West Campus Selected To Serve As Coronavirus Vaccination Center

From Valencia College:

February 23, 2021

On Feb. 19, state and federal officials announced that Valencia College’s West Campus will serve as the location for one of four federally-operated COVID-vaccination sites in the state of Florida.

The West Campus COVID vaccination center will open on March 3 and will operate 7 days per week, 7 a.m. – 7 p.m., and is expected to remain open for at least eight weeks. Federal and state teams will operate the site, and plan to administer 2,000 vaccines per day.

In making the announcement, White House COVID-19 Senior Advisor Andy Slavitt said the federal vaccine sites were determined using a range of criteria, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Social Vulnerability Index created to identify and map communities most likely to need support during a national crisis. The index takes into consideration socioeconomic status, household composition, minority status, languages, housing type and transportation.

“At Valencia College, we are honored to support the federal and state efforts to vaccinate Central Floridians, particularly those in vulnerable communities,” said Paul Rooney, assistant vice president of operations at Valencia College.

In addition to the primary location, each FEMA community vaccination center will operate two smaller, mobile satellite sites that will conduct 500 vaccinations per day in underserved areas. Through this model, the West Campus vaccination center and its two satellite sites will offer 3,000 vaccinations per day.

The community vaccination centers are opening through a partnership between the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), U.S. Department of Defense, the Florida Department of Health, Florida Division of Emergency Management and Florida National Guard.

Florida officials will use the current preregistration system and work with local community organizations to proactively schedule appointments. To preregister, individuals can either call the designated phone number for their county or visit myvaccine.fl.gov

Please note that while Valencia’s West Campus will serve as the physical location for the community vaccination center, the college will not be involved in administering vaccinations or in the operation of the site.

This press release was produced by Valencia College. The views expressed are the author's own.