Marion County: 8,000 COVID-19 Vaccine Appointments Being Scheduled This Week

OCALA, FL – Eligibility for COVID-19 vaccines has vastly expanded, and the Marion County Board of County Commissioners is working closely with the Florida Department of Health in Marion County to help those newly eligible get vaccinated as soon as possible.

As of Monday, April 5, everyone 18 and older (or 16 and 17 year olds accompanied by a parent or guardian) can receive a COVID-19 vaccine. The Florida Department of Health in Marion County is scheduling approximately 8,000 first-dose vaccine appointments this week to help accommodate all those newly eligible residents.

“Don’t wait – register today,” said Department of Health in Marion County Administrator Mark Lander. “We are working hard to fill these thousands of appointments and make the vaccination process as easy as possible, and we need you to register to make sure all our vaccine doses wind up in residents’ arms.”

To register with the Florida Department of Health in Marion County, residents can visit marion.floridahealth.gov, or register directly at tinyurl.com/marionCOVIDvax. Residents can also call 352-644-2590 to register by phone.

“We have expanded hours and established a vaccination site at the Florida Horse Park,” said Marion County Emergency Management Director Preston Bowlin, “so residents have the flexibility to pick a location and a time window that best suits them.”

Registrants will receive notifications via phone, email and/or text about their appointments and will have two hours to confirm or decline their appointment from the time their notification is issued. After two hours, the appointment will expire and the registrant will be placed back in the queue for the next available appointment.

Notification calls will display as originating from the main phone number of the Florida Department of Health in Marion County, 352-629-0137. Emails will be labeled as originating from the Florida Department of Health in Marion County – Vaccine Distribution and will be sent by Everbridge, the registration platform we are using. Text messages will originate from 88911.

Those who have previously registered for a vaccine through the MyVaccine.FL.Gov site do not need to re-register in the new system. Their information will be transferred to the Everbridge system for follow-up.

For more information, please visit marion.floridahealth.gov or marionflcovid.org.