DOH Leon Provides Week 16 Updates on COVID-19 Vaccination Efforts 

Tallahassee, FL --- The Department of Health in Leon County (DOH Leon) in partnership with the Florida Department of Health, the Florida Division of Emergency Management, and multiple public and private sector partners, continues its mission to get all Leon County residents vaccinated quickly and fairly. All of this as we continue our collective efforts related to limiting the spread of the virus and protecting public health.

This week, actions to continue a proactive approach to vaccination efforts in Leon County include the following as of April 8:

New development:  Effective Monday, April 5, residents age 16 and over are eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. The Pfizer Vaccine is authorized for persons 16 years of age and older. A parent or guardian must be present when teens are vaccinated. The Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines are authorized for people who are 18 years of age and over.

 DOH Leon Vaccination Clinic Highlights:

• We have so far sponsored 28 vaccination clinics.
• At Tuesday’s vaccination clinic (April 6), staff administered 1,140 doses.
• We have successfully administered 22,805 vaccines through our health department to date.
• The Department’s vaccine team continues expanding operations to include eligible individuals who do not have scheduled appointments.
• The DOH Leon vaccine team continues vaccinating those who are incarcerated and eligible for vaccines at the Leon County Detention Center with clinics scheduled using the Johnson and Johnson vaccine on April 8 and April 9.

DOH Leon vaccination clinics operate from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.  A valid government-issued photo ID is required. The schedule is subject to change based on vaccine supply and inclement weather. Vaccination clinics are held at:

DOH Leon Administration Building

2965 Municipal Way

Tallahassee, FL 32304

Since the COVID-19 vaccine rollout began in late December, Leon County has administered a total of 138,624 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. More than 88,400 people have been vaccinated. 50,206 people have received both Moderna or Pfizer vaccine doses or one Johnson & Johnson dose and are considered fully protected against COVID-19.

DOH Leon continues its partnership with the state’s Sharecare system that allows residents to preregister for appointments at https://myvaccine.fl.gov/#/ The website allows individuals who are eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine to be proactively contacted when vaccine appointments are available. Those without access to a computer can call the toll-free line for Leon County at 866-200-3856 or for TTY (Text Telephone Relay) at 833-476-1455. For additional questions about the appointment system, Leon County residents can call 833-540-2054. Phone lines are open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

 Leon County Government has launched an online resource to help residents navigate the community’s different vaccine locations. The Leon County Vax Map is a one-stop resource offering a list of sites with sign-up instructions, a browsable map, and an address searchable database to find convenient locations. Vax Map also features COVID-19 testing locations, both permanent operations and pop-up events.

 The Governor’s Faith and Community Based Vaccine Initiative is providing support to a Johnson and Johnson vaccination clinic in Tallahassee this weekend at The Woodville Community Center. The free COVID-19 vaccination clinic, located at 8000 Old Woodville Road in Tallahassee, will take place Saturday, April 10 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Appointments are required to receive the one-shot vaccine. To set up an appointment, call or text 901-257-9452 or email TeamExcellencegic@gmail.com. Vaccinators will have about 600 doses to administer. 

A communitywide COVID-19 public education initiative is providing timely updates from trusted voices for the Big Bend area.  Safe and Healthy Big Bend combines the resources of local governments, local hospitals and health care providers, the Leon public school system, the faith community, business, and media partners to keep the public informed and provide up-to-date information on COVID-19.  Click here to visit the Safe and Healthy Big Bend website.  The multimedia platform includes PSAs, the latest information about vaccines, and direct messaging to the community from trusted voices including DOH Leon Health Officer Claudia Blackburn.

 Community partners offer free rides to Leon County residents with appointments to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.  2-1-1  in partnership with The United Way, 2-1-1 Big Bend and Lyft is offering transportation to COVID-19 vaccination sites through the Lyft Ride United Program. The project provides safe and reliable door to door rides to COVID-19 vaccine appointments at walk-up COVID-19 vaccination sites to those who are eligible to receive the vaccine. Rides can be set up by calling (850) 617-6325 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.  Additionally, Tallahassee’s Elder Care Services continues helping residents 60 years of age and older get to community vaccination sites. They can call (850) 921-5554 to schedule transportation. Individuals do not have to be officially enrolled in the Elder Care Services Program to take advantage of this opportunity.

 Leon County continues to monitor key COVID-19 metrics. Newly reported cases have decreased. Our 7-day rolling average for new cases has averaged to about 30 per day for the past 2 weeks (3/24-4/6). The number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients is still down.  Our test positivity rate has been at 2.56% for the past two weeks (3/24-4/6).  Please note that although we saw a continued decrease in cases for Week 13, as we are approaching the end of our current week (Week 14) we are starting to see an increase in cases based on our Midweek Preliminary metrics.  Find more data on cases, testing, and fatalities specific to Leon County here.  Additionally since our last Community Partners Update, four new cases of variants of the virus have been identified:  A second case of the COVID-19 variant B1429 that’s commonly referred to as the “California” variant was confirmed. Also, three more cases of the UK variant B117 were identified. That brings the total variant case count in Leon County to 16.  The CDC is conducting studies  to collect additional data on the COVID-19 vaccine’s strength against the variants and whether or not booster shots will be required. For now, data suggest that the COVID-19 vaccines currently in use will stand up against the new variants.

The Florida Department of Health issues a COVID-19 vaccine report that is updated daily.  This report includes information on the COVID-19 vaccine by county, race, sex, and age. The site also includes all available resources that we have on the state vaccination plan. Find the COVID-19 vaccine report here: https://floridahealthcovid19.gov/

For any additional questions about the vaccine at this time, the State COVID-19 Call Center can be reached by calling 1-866-779-6121 or emailing COVID-19@flhealth.gov  and is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

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Submitted by:

Pamela Saulsby | Public Information Officer