By Terry Witt – Spotlight Senior Reporter

            The first-ever COVID-19 drive-thru vaccination event in Williston Friday ran smoothly with no hitches.

            Five hundred people arrived in their vehicles and were ushered through a series of three tents to register, get a brief medical checkup, and then get their shot without ever leaving their vehicles.

            A small army of health department officials including additional nurses sent by the state to give the injections were present, along with National Guardsmen and Williston police officers to provide security and Levy County Emergency Medical Service paramedics to assist when needed.

            David Peaton, assistant director of the Levy County Department of Emergency Management, said everyone followed the rules and arrived at their appointment time to get their shots.

            “This site has been running very well today. We definitely see it can be scaled up,” he said. “They gave out 500 first-time doses and a couple of second doses. We definitely see it can be scaled up as the numbers go up.”

            Peaton said 500 additional first-time shots will be given next week at Horseman’s Park in Williston. He said the Department of Health will announce when people can call to make an appointment and what day it will occur.

            The health department rented a large tent from a Gainesville company for Friday’s event. The tent, which was used for vaccinations, was rented through next Thursday. The next event is probably on Wednesday or Thursday.

            People must call the health department 486-5300 number for a Levy County appointment. They may experience a busy signal. Hundreds of people often call at the same time on the number jamming the phone system.

            “You have so many people calling at one time. I completely understand it’s so frustrating. They are doing the best they can for a rural county with limited staffing,” Peaton said. “That busy signal is aggravating, if people could be patient. The good news – we are getting the vaccine. We got 500 this week and we’ll get 500 next week. Who knows, with hope and luck we’ll get to the point where we get 1,000 a week, and who knows with any luck we hopefully get up to 2,000 a week.”

            “We’re hoping we get enough vaccine that we can start opening up Walmart’s, CVS’s, Walgreen’s pharmacies and private physician’s offices. When we start getting enough, we will have other avenues where people can get vaccines.”

            Vaccines reportedly can be obtained at Palms Medical Group offices in Trenton and Williston. Those offices reportedly ran out of vaccine this week.

            The vaccinations are available only to Florida residents who are 65 years of age and older. People who are temporarily living in Florida and can prove they are living here by showing a water bill or an electric bill can also get vaccinated.

However, there are rumors that out-of-state residents continue to take advantage of the COVID-19 vaccinations at private doctor’s offices.

Peaton said the Florida Department of Health is establishing an online portal that will allow people to register for vaccinations without using a phone. People will be given an appointment time after they register. The portal won’t open next week as planned. It should open the week after.

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Enterprise Reporting by Terry Witt: February 5, 2021; Posted February 5, 2021