Polk State College partners with Florida Department of Health of Polk County and Polk County Board of County Commissioners to bring drive-thru vaccinations to the community

Posted on by Polk Newsroom

Polk State College’s Lakeland Campus was the location of Polk County’s first drive-thru COVID-19 vaccination site on Tuesday, January 12, 2021.

Through its partnership with the Florida Department of Health of Polk County and Polk County Board of County Commissioners, Polk State provided the use of the Lakeland Campus parking lot for mobile vaccination services. To help ensure safety and security, the Florida Department of Health in Polk County did not advertise the College as a public vaccination site and provided this information to individuals after they registered for their appointments.

During the day-long event, 1,000 individuals aged 65 or older who had preregistered for appointments received their first doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. It is expected that the College will continue to be a location for mobile vaccination.

“Polk State is proud to participate in this critical effort to keep the community safe. We look forward to continuing to partner with the Florida Department of Health of Polk County and the Polk County Board of County Commissioners to help mitigate the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Dr. Angela Garcia Falconetti, President of Polk State College.

 

The Florida Department of Health of Polk County has a telephone hotline for vaccine registration. Individuals can call 863.298.7500 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. Employees staffing the hotline will be placing callers 65 years of age and older on a registration list for future vaccine appointments, as additional vaccine becomes available.

“We are very pleased with how today’s vaccine drive-thru went,” said Dr. Joy Jackson, Director of the Florida Department of Health in Polk County. “A huge thanks goes to our partners at Polk State College and Polk County Board of County Commissioners for helping us plan and coordinate the event. Our collaboration allowed us to coordinate this large event quickly and provide 1,000 vaccines for our residents 65 and older here in Polk.”

More information about vaccination in Florida is available on the Florida Department of Health website at www.FloridaHealth.gov. Updates for COVID-19 vaccine in Polk can be found at the DOH-Polk’s website at www.Polk.FloridaHealth.gov.