J.C. Derrick
The Florida Department of Health in Levy County will hold its first drive-thru vaccination event for 500 pre-registered residents Friday in Williston.
Levy County has been receiving about 300 vaccine doses per week, but that increased to 500 this week, said David Peaton, assistant director of Levy County Emergency Management.
“The state is very happy with the increase in number of doses, and they are hoping it’s a continuous thing, but it’s all dependent on the federal government,” Peaton said in a phone interview.
So far 2,828 Levy residents have received at least a first dose of the vaccine, according to the Levy County Emergency Management online dashboard. That means another 500 represents a 17 percent increase in the number of people who have received a vaccine.
Friday’s drive-thru event will begin at 8 a.m. in an open field near the Williston Horseman’s Park. The field is the typical location of the county fair.
Peaton said 500 doses in a day is “not too terribly taxing,” but the event is mostly designed to prepare for larger events in the future.
“We are assuming at some point and time the numbers will start going up, so we need to be prepared,” Peaton said.
Peaton said the health department is not expecting any logistical issues, but that’s contingent upon people arriving at their scheduled time.
“There is a dose for every single person who received an appointment from the health department, so there’s no benefit for them to show up earlier than the appointment time they were given,” he said.
Levy County has recorded 2,557 COVID-19 cases to date, including 24 fatalities.
Registrations for the next round of vaccine doses will begin on Monday. Peaton said he hopes the county will be able to switch over to the state’s new pre-registration system then, but he’s not yet sure of the state’s onboarding process will be complete.