TAMPA, Fl.-- — A mobile vaccination effort stopped in Tampa Saturday, part of a new state effort for mobile, one-day vaccine clinics.
People started lining up near Feeding Tampa Bay’s mega pantry, at Hillsborough Community College, more than an hour ahead of its 8 a.m. opening time. The line quickly wrapped around the parking lot as more joined in, bringing their lawn chairs to settle in.
“We found out about this last night and we decided very quickly we had to pack up early in the morning and get out if we can get it we’d be very happy,” said Charles Lanzdorf.
The site had 500 doses available, according to the Florida Division of Emergency Management. It was one of three across the state Saturday offering the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Others were located in Jacksonville and N. Miami.
“We just want to get back to living life,” said Theresa Turner, there with her daughter.
“I want to be able to go travel and see my friends and family,” said Caitlyn Torres Wells.
The pop up site is part of a strategy to increase vaccine access.
“So we have three buses out there. We’ll have 15 buses within the next two weeks,” said Jared Moskowitz, the director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management during a news conference Friday. “Those go up they set up on a block in communities that are socially vulnerable. They’re there for a day, they move to another block for a day.”
Starting Monday more Floridians will become eligible for the vaccine when the eligibility age is lowered to 50 years old .
By the end of their hours long wait, Torres Wells and Turner walked away shots in arm.