Nassau Emergency Management’s Director, Greg Foster, provided an update on this northeast Florida county’s COVID-19 vaccine situation during a FACEBOOK live streaming event held Thursday afternoon, January 14, 2021.
New Waitlist Registration Opens January 15, 2021
During the news update, the director announced that beginning on Friday, January 15, 2021 at 9 a.m., those eligible for the vaccine in “prioritized groups” can register to be placed on a new randomized waiting list. What groups are currently prioritized? The state of Florida is prioritizing those aged 65 and older, health care personnel with direct patient contact, and the residents and staff of long term care facilities.
Join OneNassau’s Vaccine Waitlist
The best way to get on the waitlist at the moment, according to Foster, is online at the Nassau County EM website, OneNassau.com. Click on the VACCINE BUTTON that will go to the Eventbrite sign up to join OneNassau’s Vaccine Waitlist. This new vaccine sign up system allows registration, even when there is no allotment of vaccine currently available in Nassau County, FL (as is the case right now at this writing).
Unlike the previous vaccine sign-up process launched during the first week of January 2021, (see previous article published Jan. 7th), those who go online in coming days to register will be placed on the new waiting list regardless of whether there is an available supply of vaccine. Then, as Nassau County receives new supply of vaccine, some registered on the waiting list will be randomly selected (by “Random Picker” platform), and will then receive an eMail confirming they can make an appointment for a vaccine dose.
According to Nassau County Emergency Management’s website, “The waitlist is private and secure. No one can see “where they are” in the waitlist. The waitlist is effectively a “pool” of potential eligible recipients of future vaccine.”
One-Time Registration Keeps You On Waitlist
Registration for the new waiting list is a one-time process. Those who sign up to be placed on the new waitlist have the chance of being randomly selected each time more supply of vaccine becomes available here in Nassau County, FL.
Vaccine Supply Vs. Demand
The vaccine that Nassau County expected to receive for this recent week (Jan. 11 to 15th), never arrived. The federal government distributes the vaccine supplies to states nationwide. Then each state’s government distributes allotments within their state. Nassau County does not have any control over how much vaccine they are allotted. Vaccine supplies remain very limited at the time being, while there’s robust demand for vaccination.
Nassau Call Center
For those not comfortable signing up online, there’s also the option to register via phone. Call the Nassau County call center at 904-548-0900, during the hours of 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays, Monday through Friday, starting on Jan. 15, 2021. The call center will also be open Saturday 1/16/2021 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Note that NASSAU EM anticipates there might be long wait times via phone lines, depending on call volume.
Nassau County, Florida Emergency Management
To follow the latest Nassau County, FL COVID-19 health emergency updates during this time when information is very fluid, changing frequently, follow the NASSAU EM Facebook page for daily news. Director Foster also streams a live weekly update on Thursday afternoons on the NASSAU EM Facebook page.
Related Content
“Nassau County, FL Begins Moderna Vaccinations of Prioritized Groups”, published January 7, 2021.