TAMPA, Fla. — Starting the morning of Monday, March 15, people 60 and older in Florida will be able to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
You will have to make an appointment to get the vaccine at any of the vaccination sites, except for the FEMA site at the Tampa Greyhound track on Waters Ave.
You must meet at least one of these requirements to be eligible to get the vaccine:
- 60 and older
- Health care worker with patient contact
- K-12 school employees 50 and older
- Law enforcement 50 and older
- Firefighters 50 and older
Officials say lowering the age requirement will not have too much of an impact on wait times or vaccine dosage.
Carole Covey is the incident commander at the FEMA site. She said they have spent the last few days preparing for Monday.
“Everything stays the same. We’re ready to accept an increase of patients that come in, and be able to take care of them in an appropriate time frame,” said Covey.
The state will also be taking a proactive approach in an effort to get people registered for the vaccine.
“We’ll have groups going door to door in the community … to help get people registered,” Covey said. “We will also have people going to churches and shopping centers.”
Even though you don’t need an appointment to get the vaccine at the FEMA site, Covey said it will make the process easier for you.
People eligible can pre-register with the statewide preregistration system for state-run sites.
Those ages 60 to 64 who pre-registered will be proactively contacted by the state to schedule an appointment when they become available in their area. Many of you probably already received a call from The call center.
ABC Action News checked with officials in other Tampa Bay area counties to see find out how the registration process is going for them.
Manatee County said it's aiming to open registration for newly eligible patients this week so they can be contacted beginning next week.
The Florida Department of Health in Pasco County said residents 60 to 64 will be eligible to sign up with CDR Maguire for appointments on Sunday at 2 p.m.
The Florida Department of Health in Polk County said people can register now through its registration portal. They can also call (863) 298-7500 for help. It says currently appointments are being scheduled for next week for those registered in the portal that is included in the newest executive order.
Another option is to schedule a vaccine through pharmacies.
ABC Action News also checked in with them on when those 60 to 64 years old may be able to register.
Publix has not yet released details.
Walmart said as patient eligibility requirements for COVID-19 vaccines expand, it will update its internal processes and online scheduling system to reflect them quickly as possible.