OKEECHOBEE – The new state appointment system helped the COVID-19 vaccination pod at the Okeechobee Agri-Civic Center go smoothly on Friday, eliminating the long lines and long waits seen with earlier vaccination events.

Appointments for vaccinations in Okeechobee are now managed through the state waitlist system. To add your name to the waitlist go online to myvaccine.fl.gov or call 866-201-1060 for Okeechobee County.

Okeechobee County Director of Community Services Denise Whitehead said each week when the county finds out how many doses of the vaccine will be distributed, they will go online to the state system and put in the number. The state system then makes appointments for that number of people, using the waitlist for Okeechobee County. Those who have signed up on the website receive the information on their email or cell phone along with a QR code. Those who called to sign up for the program get a phone call.

This week, Okeechobee County had 450 first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to give out, so the state system made 450 appointments, scheduling 25 appointments for each 15 minutes. The first appointments were at 8:30 a.m. and the vaccination pod was finished by 1 p.m.

The vaccination pod was a joint project of Okeechobee County and Florida Department of Health in Okeechobee County along with some help from volunteers.

As those with appointments arrived at the Agri-Civic Center, county staffers at the first check point scanned the QR codes or used a computer tablet to verify to  the names to make sure they were on the appointment list. Anyone without an appointment was turned away.

Those with appointments had been instructed they should arrive no earlier than 30 minutes before their appointment time. Anyone who arrived earlier was directed to a parking area to wait. If more than one person in the vehicle had an appointment, the vehicle was routed through the system based on the earliest appointment time.

Other drive-thru checkpoints at the Agri-Civic Center were set up to check the required Florida residency documentation, review the consent forms, give the shots; and, wait to make sure those given the shots did not have any adverse reactions. Whitehead said most people are required to wait 15 minutes after vaccination. Those who have any condition that requires an EpiPen are asked to wait 30 minutes.

On average, it took about an hour for a car to complete all of the checkpoints and leave the Agri-Civic Center. Traffic flow appeared to keep going smoothly.

Whitehead praised the state appointment system. “Everyone has said it’s been an easy process,” she said. Those who put their names on the state waitlist are asked to choose their county, so that has also cut the number of people from out of the area seeking vaccination in Okeechobee, she said. For those who are calling to make appointments, a different phone number has been asigned for each county. The state makes the appointments based on the county the applicant indicated on the waitlist.

Currently there is still an issue with the information on the state waitlist system transferring to the Florida Shots data base, so they still need the paper consent forms, she explained. The paper forms are also necessary because they need signatures. The forms are available for download from the health department website http://okeechobee.floridahealth.gov/programs-and-services/covid.html.

Paper forms can also be picked up at the Okeechobee County Public Library, 206 SW 16th St, Okeechobee. Whitehead said library staff can help anyone who has questions about how to fill out the forms. Library staff have also been trained to help those who have questions about proving state residency.

Whitehead said they did have a few people cancel their appointments for Friday. In order to not waste any vaccine, those doses were given to onsite county staff and volunteers who were over the age of 65.

“This online system is really good,” said Okeechobee Mayor Dowling Watford, one of the volunteers helping at the consent form stop. He said everything seemed to go very smoothly with very little waiting.

The drive-thru vaccine pods are for those seeking their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Whitehead said the second doses will be given at the health department. Okeechobee County has the Moderna vaccine, so the second dose is due 28-31 days after the first shot. Those who already received their first doses at the health department or at the Agri-Civic Center pods will receive a phone call to schedule their second doses. “We don’t want people to panic” if they don’t get a call by the 28th day, Whitehead said.

She said they hope to have weekly drive-thru pods. The number of appointments per day will depend on the quantity of vaccine provided by the state. Whitehead said they could easily handle 1,000 appointments in one day if they had the vaccine.

Proof of residency

To prove residency an adult resident must provide a copy of his or her valid Florida driver license or a copy of a valid Florida identification card issued by the state.
Those who do not have a Florida driver license or ID card may provide a copy of two of the following to show proof of residential address:
1. A deed, mortgage, monthly mortgage statement, mortgage payment booklet or residential rental or lease agreement.
2. One proof of residential address from the season resident’s parent, step-parent or legal guardian or other person with whom the seasonal resident resides and a statement from the person with whom the seasonal resident resides stating that the seasonal resident does reside with him or her.
3. A utility hookup or work order dated within 60 days before registration.
4. A utility bill, not more than 2 months old.
5. Mail from a financial institution, including checking, savings, or investment account statements, not more than 2 months old.
6. Mail from a federal, state, county, or municipal government agency, not more than 2 months old.