TAMPA, Fla — Tampa will become the home of one of Florida's latest federally-supported COVID-19 vaccination sites.
Gov. Ron DeSantis announced the Tampa Bay area site in February, along with three others in Miami, Orlando and Jacksonville.
The site will open on March 3 and will operate seven days a week between the hours of 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Each day, the governor says 2,000 vaccines will be distributed.
Branching off of the main site will be two smaller, mobile satellite sites that will complete 500 vaccinations a day in underserved areas, according to a press release.
"The goal of establishing these community vaccine centers and satellite sites is to expand the rate of vaccinations in Florida in an equitable manner, with a focus on communities with a high risk of COVID--19 exposure and infection," a Department of Defense spokesperson wrote.
Florida Division of Emergency Management Director Jared Moskowitz tweeted a 'thank you' to FEMA and President Joe Biden for working with the state to provide the additional mobile sites.
"I want to thank @fema @POTUS @JoeBiden for working with @FLSERT and the state of Florida to also provide mobile vaccination units to increase Vaccine equity in our minority and underserved neighborhoods," he wrote.
Tampa's federal site will be placed at:
Tampa Greyhound Track
755 E. Waters Ave.
Tampa, FL 33604
The specific location of where our areas two mobile satellite sites will serve are expected to be announced in the coming days. All operations will be staffed by FEMA, the DoD, and a "Type 2 Team" from the U.S. Air Force.
"The state will utilize the current preregistration system and work with local community organizations to proactively schedule appointments," a press release stated.
On Feb. 26, Gov. Ron DeSantis added people under 65 deemed "extremely vulnerable" to COVID-19 by a physician to the list of those eligible to get the shot.
The Florida Division of Emergency Management later announced that individuals that fall under that category can receive a shot at the new Tampa federal site.
You'll need to present a signed Florida Department of Health form which you can find here.
To preregister with the statewide system, individuals can either call the designated phone number for their county or visit myvaccine.fl.gov.
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