LARGO, Fla. — Pinellas County has opened its largest COVID-19 vaccine site, which is set to administer 10,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccination a week to those above age 65.
The new site opened Tuesday at 1197 E Bay Drive in Largo. That’s at the intersection of Highland Avenue N and E Bay Drive. It will be by appointment only.
With the new site up and running, in addition to four other community sites, Pinellas County will be able to vaccinate a total of 19,000 people per week. That’s, of course, dependent on the county receiving ample vaccines quantities from the state.
Currently, 109,000 people have been vaccinated in Pinellas County. That includes healthcare workers, nursing home and long-term care residents and those above age 65.
Pinellas County has also made changes to the sign up process. They’re encouraging everyone who is above age 65 to pre-register for a vaccine on the CDR Health Pro Patient Portal or call 844-770-8548.
When registering, you should opt in to receive both email and text alerts when possible.
Those who have pre-registered will be directly notified when a new appointment becomes available. Once the system notifies you that an appointment is available, you will have 48 hours to complete the booking and schedule both the first and second dose of the vaccines.
This is a big change from Pinellas County’s previous approach which forced residents to log on at a particular time to try to make appointments on the website or via the phone. The process led to the website crashing and frustration countywide.
ABC Action News spoke with people getting vaccinated at the new Largo site on Tuesday. Although many stood in line for between 30-45 minutes, they were relieved to finally get an appointment.
For more information on local vaccine distribution and availability updates, click here.
