By Terry Witt – Spotlight Senior Reporter
The Levy County Department of Health will make its first attempt Friday to operate a drive-thru COVID-19 vaccination site in the same way it tested for the virus since late last year.
People with scheduled appointments will line up beginning at 8 a.m. to drive past a series of three tents at Horseman’s Park off U.S. 41 in Williston. The event closes at 4:30 p.m.
The first tent will be used to identify whether the person has a scheduled appointment, the second to fill out paperwork, and the third tent to get a Moderna vaccine shot.
Those receiving the shots will drive to a designated parking area to be observed for 15 minutes to ensure there are no side effects.
For the record, people from anywhere in the state who pre-registered for an appointment could get vaccination shots in Williston. Participants will receive the first of two shots. The second shot is 28 days later.
People may or may not see anyone they know in line.
Levy County Department of Emergency Management Director John MacDonald said federal funds are being used to purchase and distribute the vaccines across the nation. In theory, because it’s federal funding, no one can be denied access to the medicine.
MacDonald’s assistant director, David Peaton, said the state recently increased the number of vaccine doses available in Levy County from 300 to 500. He said it’s likely the number of doses could increase to as much as 1,000 a week in the near future.
“So the health department wants to make sure they have things worked out before they get hit with a large number of doses. They want to see how this drive-through system works,” Peaton said.
Peaton said this same type of drive-through vaccination system is used across the nation and is expected to work here, although nothing is certain on the trial run.
MacDonald said the decision to use Horseman’s Park in Williston for the first-ever Levy County drive-through vaccination event was made by the health department with input from County Commissioner Matt Brooks, a Williston native.
Brooks said Horseman’s Park is large enough to accommodate a large vaccination event and is actually listed as a Department of Emergency Management POD area. POD stands for Point of Dispensing medical countermeasures and related supplies to citizens in a public health emergency.
The Department of Health is expected to activate an online portal next week that will allow residents to register for a vaccination shot at their computer. The state will use the information from the portal to schedule a vaccination date.
Many people are intensely frustrated about calling the Levy County Department of Health and getting a busy signal. The health department number is 486-5300 in case you have absolutely nothing else to do except listen to a busy signal.
MacDonald said the state has hired three private vendors to take calls and schedule vaccine appointments, but phone operators are all working on the same statewide phone network, which isn’t an ideal situation.
“The problem is you don’t know if you’ve got someone from Daytona Beach on the line. Its federal dollars and it could be anyone statewide,” he said. “You could potentially have 60 percent of the people receiving vaccinations from Alachua County and Marion County at the Williston site, but you might not. We don’t know. This whole rollout the way they are doing it is a travesty in my opinion,” said MacDonald addressing county commissioners Tuesday.
Brooks was pelted with questions from his fellow commissioners Tuesday when they learned that a drive-through vaccination event was scheduled for Friday morning in his home town.
The Williston event surfaced during an overall discussion of the issues that have plagued the vaccination program in Levy County.
County Commissioner Rock Meeks asked if the vaccinations have to be administered at the Levy County Department of Health in Williston.
“No, they do not. It’s being moved to Williston on Friday for a drive-thru,” Brooks responded.
Chairman John Meeks added, “It’s a pilot program to see how it works.”
“So if this works, does it mean we can move to a different location each week?” said Commissioner Rock Meeks.
MacDonald said he would have a meeting with the health department that same night where the drive-thru program would be discussed.
“I want to know the answer to that question as soon as you know,” Commissioner Rock Meeks responded.
“Who came up with that location?” asked Commissioner Lilly Rooks.
“That was something that came up through Brooks and the health department,” MacDonald said. “I didn’t make that recommendation. That’s what they came up with.”
“So, what about the people in my district?” Rooks said.
“There were many locations brought up,” Brooks responded.
Brooks said they are looking at doing the drive-thru vaccinations using the same locations that were used for drive-thru COVID-19 testing.
“But mobilizing for 500 at a drive-through, they needed a larger area. Williston’s Horseman’s Park is considered a POD for emergency management. It’s already an approved place, so it turned around in 5 days to get the planning done on it,” Brooks said. “They don’t know if they will continue it. They’ll try it this Friday to see how it works.”
Rooks said she assumed it would be Williston and Marion county residents taking advantage of the Horseman’s Park drive-thru event.
“No, no, you need an appointment,” Brooks said. “You’re still calling the health department like you were before and you’ve got to have an appointment. You can’t go there without an appointment.”
“That would be over a 2-hour drive for people coming from Cedar Key, an hour over and an hour back, and then you have Fowler’s Buff. I’m getting calls every day,” Rooks responded.
“You and me both,” added Commissioner Rock Meeks. “I don’t think we’re the only ones getting calls every day.”
Meeks asked if someone could explain what role the county commission plays in the operation of the health department.
“What are you and the county doing to make sure the people of Levy County are taken care of first?” Meeks said. “Good question. What is our role? Is it run by the state or is it run by the county?”
Chairman John Meeks responded that the only connection Levy County has to the health department is the name on the wall. He said he wasn’t trying to be nasty about it.
“We don’t have any decision making as far as how they are run and what they’re doing. We can only make recommendations. That was clear with some of the things John (MacDonald) and David (Peaton) tried to work on to help and we feel like we’ve been rebuffed a little bit. That’s their decision making,” Meeks responded. “I really feel confident that the new health department director, Natalie (McKellips) is getting a grasp on things and trying to move us in a positive direction. I can’t agree with all the decisions that are made.”
Commissioner Rock Meeks repeated his earlier demand to be notified when other locations in the county are to be used for drive-through vaccination events.
“Whenever you know the answer to that question, I would appreciate you letting me know,” Meeks said looking at MacDonald.
“That’s been the problem since this started,” MacDonald said. “My department does not make any decision or any choices on how they disseminate or how they get it out. We’re doing the messaging, that’s all we’re doing. We make recommendations on how they could be more efficient and work better. We’re still where we are.
MacDonald said he anticipates the state releasing more vaccine doses every week. He said a thousand a week could be coming.
“When we start getting into those numbers we’re going to have to start looking at other avenues than sitting out in front of the health department (in Bronson),” he said.
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Board of County Commission Regular Meeting February 2, 2021 Posted February 4, 2021
