ORLANDO, Fla. – A breakdown of vaccinations by ZIP code shows a disparity among those who received COVID-19 shots during the initial weeks of the vaccine roll out.
According to numbers obtained by News 6 from the Florida Department of Health, 248,405 people received at least one shot between Dec. 16, 2020, and March 8, 2021.
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FDOH hasn’t released any more ZIP code data beyond March 8 or for any other county.
According to the data it did release, the Orange County communities seeing the most vaccinated people by March 8 included Zellwood with 89% of its population at least partially vaccinated.
| ZIP CODE | PERCENT OF POPULATION VACCINATED BY MARCH 8 |
|---|---|
| 32798 | 89% |
| 34747 | 79% |
| 32814 | 35% |
| 32789 | 35% |
| 32836 | 29% |
The Four Corners area recorded 79% of its residents partially vaccinated, Baldwin Park and Winter Park each had 35% of their populations partially vaccinated and Doctor Phillips had 29% of its residents partially vaccinated.
The data also showed which communities had a smaller turnout.
Holden Heights had only 6% of its residents receiving at least one shot.
| ZIP CODE | PERCENT OF POPULATION VACCINATED BY MARCH 8 |
|---|---|
| 32839 | 6% |
| 32808 | 8% |
| 32809 | 9% |
| 32709 | 10% |
| 32824 | 11% |
Pine Hills had 8% of its residents receiving their first dose, 9% of Oak Ridge residents received their first dose by March 8, Christmas had 10% of their residents partially vaccinated and Meadow Woods had 11%.
In the two months that have passed, Orange County and the Florida Department of Health have set up vaccination sites in many of those low-turnout ZIP codes.
Finding out where disparities may remain, however, is not easy.
News 6 has been working for five months to get more COVID-19 ZIP code vaccination data from the Florida Department of Health.
“It’s been very difficult,” said Orlando City Commissioner Patti Sheehan. “The governor’s office has been wanting to thwart public information.”
Sheehan said the public deserves to know more.
She told News 6 she receives an e-mail every day from Orange County called, “The COVID-19 Situation Report.”
It carries a warning: “Please do not distribute to the media or the public.”
“My frustration is that now I’m hearing from you and other media outlets that you are not getting any information,” Sheehan said. “I think that people should be able to make good decisions based on information.”
We asked Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings why these reports were not being released to the public.
“Sometimes we rely on information and data that comes from other agencies, and they are the keepers of that data and not us,” he said. “We feel it’s up to them to release their data.”
News 6 submitted a public records request to obtain the situation reports, which could be released soon.