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Thousands more COVID-19 vaccine doses arriving in Brevard County

Appointments opening up following second shipment, third expected this week

VIERA, Fla. – Brevard County is calling its COVID-19 drive-thru vaccinations a “model setup” compared to other Central Florida counties.

The health department began public vaccinations for seniors and health care workers who are not working for a hospital group on Jan. 4 with 3,500 appointments booked through January.

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Then, the county said the health department received 1,400 more Moderna vaccines on Wednesday.

As the county expects another 2,000 doses, communications director Don Walker said seniors are beginning to have an easier time making an appointment.

The DOH is vaccinating 700 patients per day, according to Walker.

“We’re reaching out to folks that had appointments for later in the month and we’re moving them up earlier in the month so they could even be getting appointments as early as this week,” he said.

Moving up appointments leaves the DOH room later in the month to do the additional 2,000 vaccines for the people who had called initially to make appointments but weren’t able to get through, according to Walker.

Of Brevard’s 150,000 seniors, the county said 6,000 or 7,000 have been vaccinated.

Sue Dunne said getting her appointment scheduled was the hardest part.

“I think it was a bit of a challenge when they first opened up,” Dunne said. “I think they have improved the systems considerably. The county health department ran extremely efficiently.”

The state is telling local officials vaccines will be available by the time patients need their second shot, according to the county.

“We’re at the mercy of the state with how many vaccines we get, but as soon as we get them, we’re getting shots in arms as quickly as possible,” Walker said.

As of 5 p.m. Monday, no additional COVID-19 vaccine appointments are available in Brevard County.