OKEECHOBEE – Okeechobee County’s first drive-thru COVID-19 vaccination pod on Feb. 4 was well organized and well attended. The county had 500 shots available for those seeking first doses. Vaccinations started around 8:45 a.m. and by 12:25 p.m., all 500 shots had been administered. Okeechobee County and the health department worked together on the event.

“It went very well today,” said Okeechobee County Commission Chair Terry Burroughs. I think they did a really good job. It was a credit to everyone who worked out there. Everybody pulled together and I think they did an excellent job serving the community.”

“There are some things we need to tweak,” he added. Burroughs said they should have closed the gates sooner because most cars contained more than one person. He said they could have shut the gates after 275 or 300 cars and had enough people for the 500 available shots.

County Community Services Director Denise Whitehead said they were pleased with how it went, and will use what they learned Thursday to make future vaccination pods even more efficient.

The Agri-Civic Center grounds has more than 5 miles of paved roads, making it ideal for the drive-thru event, explained Matt Dorriety, who manages the facility. This allowed for plenty of space between the checkpoints. Each checkpoint was near an intersection so that anyone who was rejected could be routed off the property while the other vehicles proceded to the next check point.

Vehicles entered the drive-thru event from State Road 710.

The first checkpoint was to ensure those seeking vaccination were Florida residents and verify they had consent forms. The forms had been available for download online or from the Okeechobee County Public Library. For the purpose of the COVID-19 vaccinations, the state counts winter residents as Florida residents. Those who do not have a Florida driver’s license or Florida ID card were required to bring at least two documents proving they owned or rented a home in Florida. Documents could include leases, property tax bills, utility bills, letters from a bank to a street address, etc. Mail addressed to Post Office boxes did not qualify. This checkpoint did cause some delays. Anyone who could not prove Florida residency was rejected. Whitehead said this is an area they can improve for the next pod, by continuing to educate the public about the paperwork that is required and by adding more lanes and more staff to check paperwork.

At the second checkpoint, consent forms were double-checked to make sure they were completely filled out and date of birth was verified. Amy Cormier of the Florida Department of Health in Okeechobee County explained they needed to make sure no areas on the form were left blank and the form was signed, because they must enter the information into the Florida Shots data base.

The third checkpoint was for the medical review, followed by vaccination. Some people cannot be vaccinated or must wait more days before vaccination due to certain medical issues. Nurses at the third checkpoint handled the medical review.

Following vaccination, each vehicle windshield was marked with the number of persons inside the car who had been vaccinated and the time of the last shot.

Drivers were then directed to the fourth checkpoint to wait 15 minutes to be monitored for any side effects to the shot. After staff made sure no one needed medical help, the windshield was cleaned and the vehicle proceded to the exit on State Road 70.

Burroughs said the goal for the next vaccination pod will be 500 shots in less than 3 hours.