The Florida Department of Health in Lee County is shuttering its mass COVID-19 vaccination site in the old Sears building at the Edison Mall at the end of the day Friday and will only provide the shots at department offices in east Fort Myers and North Fort Myers.
Administrators made the decision to close the site because of a continuing decline in demand, spokeswoman Tammy Soliz said. The mass vaccination site was necessary when demand was much higher and fewer people had been vaccinated, Soliz said in an email. The demand is low enough now that we can normalize the COVID-19 vaccine and bring it back into our normal clinical operations at FDOH (Florida Department of Health) Lee.
The county reports fewer people coming through the vaccination site. There are many places that are on line or are coming on line to provide vaccines, Brady said
The vaccination site at the former Sears, Roebuck building at Edison Mall will close as of June 18. The Florida Department of Health Lee County clinics will take over at its Lee County clinics beginning June 21.
In all, Lee County s health department has given 217,538 vaccines at locations that have include the Southwest Florida airport property, Edison Mall and assorted events run by the county to administer shots.
Testing is also winding down. The state Department of Emergency Management will shutter the outdoor testing clinic at Century Link Park in south Fort Myers on Sunday.
Black church leaders are leading a task force to get more vaccines in Black communities
Published: February 22, 2021 6:16 PM EST
Updated: February 22, 2021 7:03 PM EST
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Black pastors are attempting to solve the disparity in vaccine distribution and get more shots in arms of the people part of their underserved communities.
The plan is to get more vaccines into trusted venues- places that are in the heart of underserved communities led by people the community trusts. Members of the Statewide Covid-19 Vaccine Community Education and Engagement Task Force is trying to set up vaccine sites at Black churches across the state, HBCUs, and other places that are easy for underserved communities to access.”