The Florida Department of Health in Pasco County (DOH-Pasco), with only 1,800 doses of the vaccine to distribute this week, did the best they could to start the process of delivering them to the estimated 170,000 Pasco residents over 65 years of age who make up the bulk of the Phase 1 vaccination program. If the doses don’t increase it would take approximately two years to get all Senior citizens protected but everyone believes an increase in production and distribution is weeks away and we need to walk before we run. The lessons learned in Phase 1 will help with the real challenge, distribution to the entire population of Pasco County.

DOH-Pasco will be holding four vaccination clinics the week of Jan. 18, 2021. Appointments were open for registration on Sunday, Jan. 17 at 2:00 p.m. but 1,800 slots filled up in a nanosecond. An appointment is mandatory to receive the COVID-19 vaccination. DOH-Pasco has contracted with CDR Maguire Health & Medical to manage Pasco County’s vaccination registration. The system didn’t work well showing many slots available and would let you pick appointments but then would filter and fail. I did this for all both locations multiple times until they ran out of appointments.

“Please keep in mind we are in Phase 1 of the vaccination program. This program will continue for months.” says the DOH-Pasco. Anyone 65 and older who needs the COVID-19 vaccination must go to patientportalfl.com or call 844-770-8548 and create an account with CDR Maguire: Health & Medical (CDR Maguire). It is required to have an account with CDR Maguire to register for a vaccination appointment. Those who have already created an account with CDR Maguire will need to log into the patient portal to register for an appointment.

There will be 400 appointments available each day on Tuesday, Jan. 19 and Thursday, Jan. 21 from 2:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. at Sears Auto Center in the Gulfview Square Mall. There will be 500 appointments available each day on Wednesday, Jan. 20 and Friday, Jan. 22 from 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. at Saint Leo University.

It is required to have a photo I.D. when checking in for vaccination appointments. If the online patient portal was used to register for an appointment (instead of calling), those people should bring a printed or digital copy of the confirmation email they received containing a QR code. For additional information on DOH-Pasco’s vaccination operations, please visit Pasco.FloridaHealth.gov.

DOH-Pasco requests, before contacting the health department directly, please visit our COVID-19 Vaccination Distribution webpage and for frequently asked questions, visit our COVID-19 Vaccination FAQs webpage.