Gardens gets a shot in the arm: Vaccine site ready to open

The gymnasium at the Burns Road Community Center is about to draw crowds for a form of exercise that has nothing to do with basketball hoops and volleyball nets. 

The new playbook calls for senior citizens to roll up their sleeves to get a coveted shot in the arm. 

For the first time outside a Publix or other pharmacy, starting at 9 a.m. Wednesday, seniors will be able to get vaccinated against COVID-19 in north county.

Prompted by County Commissioner Maria Marino, a former Gardens councilwoman, county and city officials joined together Tuesday to formally unveil the vaccine center.

About 500 people with appointments will begin lining up Wednesday, with another 500 set to get a dose of the Moderna vaccine Thursday and 1,000 more on Friday, county health officials said.  

Palm Beach County Health Care District workers will be there to prep the vials and county and Palm Beach Gardens firefighters will handle the injections.

Vaccines will be available by appointment-only with recipients getting into the gymnasium through a separate entrance east of the main doors.  Appointments may be made at vaccine.hcdpbc.org but, at this time, only for people 65 or older.

In Palm Beach County, 250,000 have been vaccinated in about two months, “quite an astounding achievement,” Marino said, despite what she acknowledged as a “bumpy” rollout. The county depleted its stock of vaccines in January as Gov. Ron DeSantis shifted county doses to Publix before shifting back a few weeks later.

Palm Beach Gardens Mayor Carl Woods and council members Chelsea Reed and Rachelle Litt joined Marino and Health Care District CEO Darcy Davis, County Health Director Alina Alonso, County Administrator Verdenia Baker and Palm Beach Gardens City Manager Ron Ferris for the 3 p.m. Tuesday news conference and tour.

The gymnasium offers those getting the vaccine plenty of space to line up six feet apart as workers walk them through their paperwork.

The center of the gym is devoted to about a half-dozen tables where firefighters will give them the shot.

The site is designed to provide up to 1,000 shots a day.

While the Health Care District distributes vaccines at the South Florida Fairgrounds off Southern Boulevard and the South County Civic Center west of Delray Beach, it is venturing north for the first time at the site just east of Military Trail and south of PGA Boulevard.

Thank you for reading. You may also want to check out Joel’s recent posting on the status of plans for a Tri-Rail commuter line in north county. Joel, a longtime Palm Beach Gardens resident, wrote and edited stories at The Palm Beach Post for nearly 30 years before departing in December 2020. Joel welcomes your comments and news tips at Joel@OnGardens.org. 

Burns Road Community Center to be vaccine center

UPDATE

A north county vaccination center run by the Health Care District is going to open Feb. 24 not at Palm Beach State College but instead at the Burns Road Community Center, the county announced Feb. 17.

The college location on PGA Boulevard didn’t work out because of space factors. The community center east of Military Trail on Burns is owned by the city of Palm Beach Gardens. It was “deemed more suitable for this type of operation,” the county’s press release said.

The Feb. 24 opening is based on vaccine availability. Vaccines will be given strictly by appointment.

At a Feb. 9 county commission meeting, County Administrator Verdenia Baker, prodded by Commissioner Maria Marino, said a center would be opening the following week at the college.  But a final deal had not yet been struck.

ORIGINAL POSTING

Until now, north county residents had a choice of 15 nearby Publix stores to get vaccinated against the coronavirus.

That means signing up for the shots through the grocery chain’s hit-or-miss website.

But, by the end of next week, that could change.

Planning is under way for a site run by the Palm Beach County Health Care District to open at Palm Beach State College off of PGA Boulevard south of the Gardens Mall.

The news emerged Tuesday as County Commissioner Maria Marino, a former Gardens Council member who represents north county’s District 1 on the county commission, questioned county officials. 

Pointing out that the average age in her district is 51, she said it was time north county had a site where residents could get inoculated.

County Administrator Verdenia Baker told her about plans for the college site. “We anticipate that site being ready to be up and running by the end of next week,” Baker said.

Marino had been pleading with county officials to offer vaccinations in north county. Lining up a site is a major first step.

“Opening up and having vaccines are two different things,” Marino said later in an interview. “We’ll be ready when we get more vaccines.

“It’s timing. And availability of doses. That’s the end of it. We can’t manufacture them out of thin air.”

First served at the site likely will be those already on the lengthy waiting list for a shot.

While difficulties getting an appointment coupled with the slow rollout of vaccines have grabbed headlines, health department figures indicate they’ve already inoculated about 46 percent of those over 65.

The site will be run by the Health Care District, which operates several COVID-19 testing sites, including the one at the FITTEAM Ballpark of the Palm Beaches in West Palm Beach. Officials will reach out to local fire-rescue departments for help.

That’s similar to the way the inoculation center opening Wednesday at the South Florida Fairgrounds is set to operate. It will be able to inoculate up to 7,000 people a day.

At this point, the only residents eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine are those 65 and older and front-line health care workers. 

Residents who want a shot can’t just show up. They will need an appointment first. Details have not yet been announced on how that will be handled and whether those already on a waiting list will go first. But the waiting list will be tapped first at the fairgrounds, which is off Southern Boulevard west of Florida’s Turnpike.

Thank you for reading. You may also want to check out Joel’s recent PBGWatch blog on the proposed PGA Station development and the return of developer Dan Catalfumo. Joel wrote and edited stories at The Palm Beach Post for nearly 30 years before departing in December 2020. He lives in Palm Beach Gardens and welcomes your comments and news tips at JoelOnGardens@gmail.com.