State Vaccination Site To Move To Stadium, Testing Site To Mall

TAMPA, FL — Following complaints of long lines of cars backed up at the state-run coronavirus vaccination site at the University Square Mall, the state has decided to move the site to a parking lot near Raymond James Stadium.

The Florida Division of Emergency Management announced that the state-supported vaccination site at University Mall in Hillsborough County will permanently relocate to Raymond James Stadium Lot 14 on Monday, March 1.

To accommodate for the change, the state-supported COVID-19 testing site at Raymond James Stadium will permanently relocate to University Square Mall, 2200 E. Fowler Ave., on Tuesday, March 2.

Moving the University Square Mall vaccination site to Raymond James Stadium Lot 14 will address logistical problems such as traffic congestion and long wait times. The new location will allow the site to accommodate up to 3,200 people per day between first- and second-dose appointments.

The last day of vaccine operations at University Square Mall will be Saturday, Feb. 27. The site will not be operational or schedule vaccine appointments Sunday, Feb. 28, to allow staff to move the site. The vaccination site will resume normal vaccine operations Monday, March 1, at Raymond James Stadium.

Those who have scheduled first- or second-dose vaccine appointments do not need to take any additional action. People with vaccine or testing appointments at these locations will have their appointments honored at the new locations.

Additionally, people who received their first dose appointment at University Square Mall will automatically be scheduled to receive their second dose at Raymond James Stadium.

Eligible seniors interested in scheduling a vaccine appointment at Raymond James Stadium can call 866-200-3896 or visit MyVaccine.FL.gov.

The last day of COVID-19 testing operations at Raymond James Stadium will be Saturday, Feb. 27. The site will resume normal testing operations Tuesday, March 2, at University Square Mall. The coronavirus testing site is open to residents without an appointment Tuesday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The vaccination site is open seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. It's manned by contracted nurses and members of the Florida National Guard. Directions to Raymond James Stadium, Lot 14 are available here.

All state-supported vaccination and COVID-19 testing sites are available here.

The move to the stadium came after seniors complained of waiting up to five hours to be vaccinated even though they had a scheduled appointment time.

Additionally, businesses were concerned about the cars waiting at the vaccination site spilling onto Fowler Avenue and blocking their parking lots.

"It’s important to note, this relocation will not reduce COVID-19 testing services," Samantha Bequer, press secretary for the Florida Division of Emergency, said. "The state is committed to providing accessible COVID-19 testing and will continue to operate a state-supported testing site in Hillsborough County."

The soon-to-be-relocated University Square Mall vaccination site is currently the only permanent vaccination site in Hillsborough County, which opted to use the state-run vaccination system rather than a county vaccination system.

However, Hillsborough County will have one of four federally supported vaccination sites in the state starting Wednesday, March.

The federal site will be located at the closed Tampa Greyhound Race Track at 755 E. Waters Ave. in Sulphur Springs and will be open seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., administering 2,000 vaccines a day. In addition to vaccinating seniors age 65 and up, the federal site will vaccinate teachers age 50 and up and law enforcement officers.

Additionally, the federal government plans to open two smaller mobile satellite sites in the county to provide 500 vaccinations a day in underserved areas.

The federal sites are being operated in by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, U.S. Department of Defense, the Florida Department of Health, Florida Division of Emergency Management and the Florida National Guard.

FEMA will use the same preregistration system the state-run sites use - myvaccine.fl.gov or 866-200-3896.

In the meantime, Hillsborough County is continuing its own vaccination effort in conjunction with the Hillsborough County Department of Health.

Dr. Doug Holt, director of the Department of Health-Hillsborough, said the county's Targeted Vaccine Area initiative has played a crucial role in vaccinating eligible seniors.

One-day vaccination clinics are being set up in churches, senior living facilities and retirement communities around the county. The sites provide a list of eligible seniors who are contacted by the county to schedule an appointment. The sites also provide room for either a walk-up or drive-thru clinic and volunteers to help run the site.

Between the state-run vaccination site and the TVAs, Holt said the county is vaccinating 15,000 to 18,000 people a week. To date, the county has set up 27 TVA sites in areas around the county with large senior populations.

Additionally, the county has launched a mobile clinic to vaccinate home-bound residents.

Tim Dudley, director of Emergency Management for Hillsborough County, said the mobile clinic is traveling to the homes of seniors who are bedridden, disabled, have social phobias or have no transportation to a vaccination site.

The mobile unit, run by fire rescue paramedics and Hillsborough County Department of Health staff, is reaching about 24 residents a day. Eventually, Dudley said the county will expand the mobile program to about 60 seniors a day.

The home-bound residents are selected through the Florida Emergency Management Division's Special Needs Registry and Hillsborough County Aging Services' client list. Seniors age 65 and up can register for the Special Needs Registry here.

Other Vaccination Options

While Hillsborough County currently does not have access to the number of vaccines being distributed by hospitals and private health care systems, additional vaccination efforts are underway through the following health care facilities:

• AdventHealth
• BayCare
• James A. Haley Veterans' Hospital
• Suncoast Community Health
• Tampa General
• USF Health

Some pharmacies located in Hillsborough County are also administering vaccines through the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program.

To find participating locations and to make an appointment, visit:

• Publix
• Walmart
• Winn-Dixie
• CVS

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has also asked the Florida Department of Health and the Florida Division of Emergency Management to coordinate with the Florida Department of Veterans Affairs to identify veterans of World War II and the Korean War who are unable to travel and provide them with vaccinations at home. For more information, click here.

See related stories:

• Hillsborough Begins Effort To Vaccinate Home-Bound Residents
• State-Run Vaccination Site Opens At University Square Mall
• Hillsborough County To Take Coronavirus Vaccines To Those In Need
• Plant City CVS Pharmacy To Begin Vaccinating Eligible Seniors
• Federal Sites To Vaccinate Teachers 50 And Up, Law Enforcement