The chairman of the Lake County Commission has issued an update on the COVID-19 vaccine and admits that demand for the vaccination is outweighing the supply.
This past week, Lake County offered vaccination appointments online and all of the appointments were gobbled up within 15 minutes. The website logged over 15,000 unique users.
“This gives some context to the disparity between the demand for vaccines and the available supply provided by the state,” said Lake County Commission Chairman Sean Parks.
He praised the work of the Lake County Health Department.
“Because of their efforts with the first come, first served drive-through sites, Lake County leads in immunization distribution per capita among neighboring counties,” Parks said.
Villagers desperate for the vaccine have been heading to a site in Clermont where they were able to get the vaccine.
“Through the word of mouth of fellow Villagers, we headed south to the Clermont Arts & Recreation Center where Lake County’s Health Department was administering the vaccine,” said Village of Tall Trees resident Bjon Wiberg said.
He said the trip was worth it.
“We found Lake County’s system of drive-through vaccinations, managed by super friendly volunteers and professionals, extremely efficient. No previous sign-ups or hoping to get on a call-back list. We just got in line with hundreds of other cars that were efficiently directed through the process was so well organized and managed, putting Sumter County to shame,” he said.
Wiberg made those comments before a private vendor, with the cooperation of The Villages, opened a vaccination site on a grassy field near Buffalo Ridge Plaza, which was plagued early on with confusion when a website was seeking sensitive personal information.
“We have received lots of positive feedback regarding our immunization site, but we also know there is a lot of work that still needs to be done to expand our efforts. For as many who are relieved to have received a vaccine, there are many more who remain anxious and frustrated. Please know that your County officials and staff, together with DOH-Lake and local and state partners, are working hard to offer immunization in Lake County. Plans for additional sites and higher throughput are in the works but are largely dependent on the state’s supply of COVID-19 vaccine to DOH-Lake,” Parks said.
Persons who text COVIDUPDATE to 888777 will be notified when Lake County receives more vaccines and the Immunization Scheduling System reopens. Visit the scheduling website at https://scheduling.lakecountyfl.gov for more information and answers to frequently asked questions. You do not need to be a resident of Lake County to sign up for the alerts to receive the vaccine.
