How To Get A Coronavirus Vaccine In Pinellas County

PINELLAS COUNTY, FL — The Florida Department of Health in Pinellas County is ramping up efforts to vaccinate first responders and residents age 65 and older including teachers.

In partnership with the Florida Department of Health, Florida Division of Emergency Management and Pinellas County Government, the DOH-Pinellas is setting up vaccination sites at various locations throughout the county to make it easier for seniors to get vaccinated.

On Saturday, the DOH-Pinellas worked with the division of emergency management to provide vaccinations to first responders at the Center for Health Equity in St. Petersburg and vaccinate 500 members of the Mt. Zion Progressive Missionary Baptist Church in St. Petersburg.

On Tuesday, the DOH-Pinellas began working hand in hand with the Pinellas County Government and first responders to provide the first of 10,000 vaccines at four sites in Pinellas County to those who set up appointments through the county's new CDR Health Portal. The first site was at the Pinellas Park Auditorium Tuesday, where about 400 residents received vaccines. The vaccination clinics will continue through Jan. 25.

"I'm excited," said Tom Iovino, spokesman for the DOH-Pinellas. "It's going exceptionally smoothly."

The DOH-Pinellas is also setting up vaccinations for Pinellas County School Board employees who are 65 and older at closed distribution sites.

As the county receives more supplies of vaccines from the state, the DOH-Pinellas will issue weekly updates and let senior citizens know when they can call or go online at the CDR Health Portal to register for future vaccination clinics.

Iovino said the county hopes to eventually vaccinate 2,000 residents a day if the state can provide enough vaccine.

As of Monday, the DOH-Pinellas has vaccinated 47,049 people, including front-line health care workers, first responders, and residents and staff of long-term nursing facilities.

On Jan. 4 when the county first opened vaccination registrations for residents age 65 and up, thousands of residents attempted to sign on, causing the system to crash. The county was forced to cut off the registration process.

See related stories:

• Mad Dash For Vaccine Leaves Pinellas Seniors Irate, Irked
• Pinellas Shuts Down Vaccine Registration Process; Seniors Alarmed

After the system crashed, the county hired the national health care management company CDR Maguire: Health & Medical to handle vaccine registrations.

Last week, the county received 10,000 more vaccines from the state, so it reopened registrations on Friday, Jan. 15 for residents to make appointments. All 10,000 doses were claimed within an hour after the system opened.

The county is anticipating receiving more doses of the vaccine this week and will announce a new day and time for residents to make appointments.

In the meantime, residents should access the CDR Vaccination Portal online and create an account if they haven't already. Residents must create an account to make a vaccination appointment.

Residents only need to set up an account once but each member of the family age 65 or older needs to set up their own account.

Those without internet access or who need assistance with the portal can call 844-770-8548. The call center is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and can provide guidance in English and Spanish.

Any resident with the ability to access the internet is strongly encouraged to use the online portal because phone wait times have been exceptionally long in neighboring counties that use the same platform.

Residents will use their account information to register for a vaccine appointment. To make an appointment, return to the CDR Vaccination Portal and click "Get Vaccinated" on the homepage of the account screen. Residents also need to complete a medical screening questionnaire when scheduling an appointment.

Once they make an appointment, residents will be notified of the day, time and location to receive their vaccine. The county isn't releasing the locations in advance because it wants to prevent residents without appointments from showing up.

Appointments are mandatory to get the vaccine.

Once residents successfully schedule an appointment, they will receive an appointment confirmation that they must bring with them to their vaccination appointment.

Vaccination Confirmation

Residents must show up at the location, day and time specified when they made their appointment. Show up on time but do not show up early.

Residents will park and check in before getting their shots.

Residents must have a photo I.D. when checking in for vaccination appointments.If the online patient portal was used to register for an appointment (instead of calling), those people should bring a printed or digital copy of the confirmation email they received containing a QR code.

After receiving their shots, they must wait 15 minutes to ensure they have no adverse reaction.

Once residents receive their first vaccine, they will receive an email notifying them of the day and time to receive their second dose. Receiving both doses is critical for the vaccine to work.

Continue to wear masks, social distance and avoid crowds even after receiving two doses of the vaccine.

Keep in mind that 25.4 percent or about 243,749 of Pinellas County's 974,996 residents are age 65 or over.

Since the county is receiving a limited supply of vaccines each week, not all residents who attempt to register for appointments will be successful. The county encourages residents to continue trying each time registrations are open.

Residents who are unable to book a vaccination appointment during the registration period can sign up for alerts for future registrations by clicking the tab that says "Sign Up For Alerts" here.

To help vaccinate seniors as quickly as possible, the county will also offer vaccination clinics at churches throughout the county.

Additionally, federally approved county health clinics along with CVS and Walgreens and hospitals will soon offer vaccines. Under an agreement with the state, Publix has also started providing vaccinations at some counties in north Florida, but eventually will offer vaccinations at Publix Supermarkets in other counties.

Courtesy DOH-Pinellas

The DOH-Pinellas has more information about the process on its website.

Video Courtesy DOH-Pinellas