By David Hebert, City Manager, City of Oakland Park
On Sunday January 3, frustrated by the required internet registration process failures and the massive congestion and long waits at vaccine sites, I called the county director of the state department of health and proposed a closed POD vaccine site targeting vulnerable seniors. Seniors were identified as the first group of recipients under an order of the governor. These seniors were defined as having limited mobility, limited computer access or literacy, and/or limited economic resources or English proficiency. She agreed immediately to provide us vaccines. That week staff contacted possible members of this class from senior shut-in lists, seniors who qualify for low-income property tax benefits, recipients of meals on wheels, senior centers, religious and not-for-profit institutions to begin making appointments. We offered transportation to any city resident in need. Staff was trained by the department of health that week and on Monday, January 9, we opened service. The first day we provided 54 vaccinations. The next week we were able to scale up to 72. We also contacted surrounding cities to invite them to provide similarly situated seniors. We operated seven days a week for the first few weeks but scaled back to six days as the toll on staff and volunteers was exhausting. Since the day we opened, we have used EVERY VACCINE THAT WAS PROVIDED and as of today are delivering 144 vaccines at the site daily.
Below is background information, additional news coverage and educational resources the city created to help other local governments set up their own vaccine site.
Additional Media Coverage
WSFLTV: https://youtu.be/zzpKmaLfuPU
Living in Oakland Park: https://youtu.be/mH_ajNnqb3U
South Florida Gay News: Oakland Park Has Distributed More Than 5,000 COVID Vaccines Since January
New Pelican: City Provides COVID-19 vaccines to vulnerable seniors
NBC6: https://youtu.be/T9yFRs16fv4
POD Educational Resources
The City prepared planning resources to help other entities set up a POD in their community. Click here to access a guide to help your jurisdiction set up a POD. Oakland Park also created two videos, an informational video that provides an overview of the logistics in the POD, and a second video that shows someone walking through all POD stations.
