News-Journal readers
Publix does it right
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis made a wonderful decision allocating a portion of the state’s COVID vaccines to the pharmacies of Publix supermarkets, in my experience.
Last month, my wife sat down with a humble iPad and scored two appointments for the very next day, scheduled an hour apart at our local Publix pharmacy a 10-minute drive from our home in New Smyrna Beach. Upon arrival, we were told the pharmacist would see us together immediately! Thanks to pre-registration, we were vaccinated within 10 minutes. After a 15-minute observation wait, we were out the door, delayed only by a stop to buy a lottery ticket. We were home well within an hour of our departure.
Florida is also leading the country in the number of cases of the more contagious COVID-19 variant known as B.1.1.7, first identified in England, which is spreading quickly through the state.
The latest update from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday showed that Florida now has 186 cases outpacing the 33 other states that have detected the variant. California, with the second-highest number of cases, has 127. The country has a total of 541 cases.
Volusia County was reported to have its first case of the variant Jan. 28.
On Tuesday, 89,673 people received a COVID-19 vaccine in the state, bringing the total number of doses administered to 2,209,641, according to a report by FDOH. Of those, 421,315 are booster doses.
Florida Debuts Website to Preregister for COVID-19 Vaccination By Audrea Huff and Matt Fernandez Florida UPDATED 10:23 PM ET Jan. 29, 2021 PUBLISHED 9:54 AM ET Jan. 29, 2021 PUBLISHED 9:54 AM EST Jan. 29, 2021
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The state of Florida has debuted a website where eligible Floridians can preregister for a COVID-19 vaccination.
What You Need To Know
Eligible Floridians can now preregister for COVID-19 vaccination at myvaccine.fl.gov
Those who aren t yet eligible can sign up for email updates on when they will be
New website comes as supply can t keep up with demand for vaccine
The site, https://myvaccine.fl.gov, allows people to choose their county and get in line.
DELAND Volusia County officials said despite having received no COVID-19 vaccinations from the state this week, they will distribute the 500 doses they do have at the county fairgrounds in DeLand.
People 65 and older can sign up to receive the Moderna vaccine Thursday at the fairgrounds, 3150 E. New York Ave. The drive-thru event will last from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m
People can begin signing up for the slots Wednesday at 9 a.m. by using Eventbrite or calling 866-345-0345.
The announcement was first teased Monday afternoon at the elected officials roundtable by Volusia County s public protection director Joe Pozzo and Patricia Boswell, who administers the Florida Department of Health office in Volusia County.