Editor’s Note: Neighbor Gerry Kurth tried to obtain a vaccination appointment in St. Johns County and details his experience below.

The Florida Department of Health in St. Johns County received approximately 3,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine on Monday, December 28, for allocation to the following populations:

• Healthcare personnel with direct patient contact
• Long-term care facility residents and staff
• Persons 65 years of age and older

The Florida Department of Health in St. Johns County is currently vaccinating persons 65 years of age and older daily by appointment only, while supplies last, at the Health and Human Services Building, 200 San
Sebastian View, St. Augustine, FL 32084. Per the Florida Department of Health in St. Johns County, all available appointment slots are filled for this week and new appointments are currently not being scheduled.

In the future, to schedule a COVID-19 vaccination appointment with the Florida Department of Health in St. Johns County, visit http://stjohns.floridahealth.gov.

For additional information regarding local vaccination operations, contact the Florida Department of Health in St. Johns County at 904.506.6081 or
stjohnsfeedback@flhealth.gov. For additional information regarding the State of Florida’s vaccination plan, contact the Florida Department of Health at 866.779.6121 or covid-19@flhealth.gov.

While the St. Johns County Board of County Commissioners is not directly responsible for the COVID-19 vaccination program, the County is supporting the Florida Department of Health in its mission and has activated the Emergency Operations Center hotline.

Residents who contact the Florida Department of Health in St. Johns County and are unable to reach a representative may contact the St. Johns County
Emergency Operations Center at 904.295.3711 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.

St. Johns County will actively provide additional information as more vaccines become available to our community and the Florida Department of Health’s vaccination plan progresses.

Please visit the St. Johns County COVID-19 vaccinations webpage at www.sjcfl.us/coronavirusvaccinations or text SJCVACCINE
to 888777 to receive timely updates.

Reader Comment

Brian,

Thanks for publishing and keeping us current on the virus and vaccinations. We thought the time was right to get in the virtual vaccine line, since we have friends over 65 in other counties who signed up by phone or website and received appointments in January. St. Johns seems to be lagging.  

Quick perspective (statistics attached):

As of 12/30, Florida has provided 175,000 vaccinations. That’s just under 1% of Florida’s 22 million residents. 3,200 vaccinations have been administered in St. Johns county. That’s 1.3% of the population of about 250,000. We’re obviously at the very beginning of this adventure.

It looks like the Florida department is starting to roll out a sign up process for the counties. Here is an example in Marion County:

Marion County residents ages 65 and older are now able to sign up for a COVID-19 vaccination. Visit http://marion.floridahealth.gov/newsroom/2020/12/12_28.html for more information.

To sign up, visit https://tinyurl.com/y98cxp6s. A hotline dedicated to registering is provided for those without internet access. 

Seems logical. I spun through the official notice you posted, expecting to find some type of sign up sheet. Instead, I was greeted with bureaucracy at it’s finest!     

The most recent published info as of 12/29 is in black. My comments in blue.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

The Florida Department of Health in St. Johns County received approximately 3,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine on Monday, December 28, for allocation to the following populations:

• Healthcare personnel with direct patient contact
• Long-term care facility residents and staff
• Persons 65 years of age and older

The Florida Department of Health in St. Johns County is currently vaccinating persons 65 years of age and older daily by appointment only, while supplies last, at the Health and Human Services Building, 200 San Sebastian View, St. Augustine, FL 32084. Per the Florida Department of Health in St. Johns County, all available appointment slots are filled for this week and new appointments are currently not being scheduled.

Why even mention unavailable slots? Seems like it adds to the confusion.

In the future, to schedule a COVID-19 vaccination appointment with the Florida Department of Health in St. Johns County, visit ht s.tp://stjohnfloridahealth.gov.

Misspelled website. Presumably, it’s meant to point to  http://stjohns.floridahealth.gov

This is a working website full of general information. There is a section specific to St. Johns county. Clicking within it points back to this page! 

For additional information regarding local vaccination operations, contact the Florida Department of Health in St. Johns County at 904.506.6081

No one answers and there is no prompt that allows signing up for vaccinations.

stjohnsfeedback@flhealth.gov.

Left email. No acknowledgement.  

For additional information regarding the State of Florida’s vaccination plan, contact the Florida Department of Health at 866.779.6121

No one answers and there is no prompt that allows signing up for vaccinations.

or covid-19@flhealth.gov.

Left email. No acknowledgement.  

While the St. Johns County Board of County Commissioners is not directly responsible for the COVID-19 vaccination program, the County is supporting the Florida Department of Health in its mission and has activated the Emergency Operations Center hotline.

Residents who contact the Florida Department of Health in St. Johns County and are unable to reach a representative may contact the St. Johns County
Emergency Operations Center at 904.295.3711 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.

A maze of options. None point to any sign up list.

St. Johns County will actively provide additional information as more vaccines become available to our community and the Florida Department of Health’s vaccination plan progresses.

Please visit the St. Johns County COVID-19 vaccinations webpage at www.sjcfl.us/coronavirusvaccinations

Points back to this page.

or text SJCVACCINE to 888777 to receive timely updates.

This appears to be an active text number, since a robo-responder asks for a zip code. The text number was published about a week ago.  No response for 72 hours (and counting) after responding with the zip code.