FEMA sites now offer Pfizer or J&J photos

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Starting Saturday morning, both Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson vaccines are available at Gateway Mall, Normandy Community Center and Hammond Senior Center in Jacksonville.

Every eligible person who receives a vaccine at any of the Jacksonville Federal Emergency Management Agency websites will receive a choice of vaccine.

• Gateway Mall – 5200 Norwood Avenue – 7:00 – 19:00

• Hammond Senior Center – 3312 West 12 St.

• Normandy Community Center – 1751 Lindsey Road

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The alert system of Duval County sent a message on Saturday morning, reminding those enrolled in its system about who is now eligible for a COVID-19 shooting.

Those currently eligible to receive a vaccine at a FEMA site include:

• Residents and staff of long-term care units;

• People over the age of 65;

• Medical staff with direct contact with the patient;

• All school staff and childcare workers;

• Extremely medically vulnerable people, regardless of age, with a signed waiver from your doctor;

• Sworn police officers over the age of 50; and

• Firefighters aged 50 and over.

After many changes regarding who is eligible for the shooting, some said they thought more people would come out on Saturday, especially teachers – because they are the first photos of the weekend, regardless of age, in the city.

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But there were no lines at Gateway Mall on Saturday.

“I think now it’s just a matter of sending the message back to the community that they can come out here and get the shots,” said Demita Gamble, who was vaccinated on Saturday.

FEMA said about 790 people were vaccinated Saturday at Gateway Mall. This is just over a third of the 2,000 photos you can take on the site a day.

It was a rainy end to COVID-19 vaccinations for the first Saturday in downtown Gateway.

“I expected a longer line,” said a teacher in Duval County.

“I don’t think there’s enough publicity, and a lot of people don’t even know it’s happening,” said Roosevelt Gamble, who was vaccinated.

There have been many changes in who can and cannot get photography on this site. Some people said that this could be part of the reason why there is not much participation at the moment.

“I think a lot of people are just skeptical about it and they’re afraid of it,” said Maxine Frison, who received the vaccine on Saturday.

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The Department of Health said that as of Friday, 137,499 people had completed their series of vaccines in Duval County. The series includes both doses of Pfizer and Moderna, as well as a single shot of Johnson and Johnson.

The Department of Health said 1,902,314 people in the state completed the series of vaccines, which means both photos with Pfizer and or Moderna, and a single shot of J&J. Of these, 1,413,491 people are over 65 years old.

The Gateway Mall website is open seven days a week from 7:00 to 19:00

Gov. Ron DeSantis said Friday that he anticipates lowering the eligibility age from 65 to 60 or 55 or more as more vaccine becomes available later this month.