Osceola County

High demand for COVID-19 vaccine causes phone outage in Osceola County, but you can still email

OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla — UPDATE:

The Florida Department of Health said it temporarily closed registration for the COVID-19 vaccination in Osceola County on Wednesday and will resume the process when it receives more vaccine from the state.

Click here to find other vaccination sites in Central Florida.

Previous story:

Residents in Osceola County looking to make appointments to get the Moderna vaccine reported phone lines were down Tuesday.

Jeremy Lanier with the Department of Health, said the outage was due to higher than normal call volume.

Watch: Osceola County opens registration for COVID-19 vaccinations

Lanier said to help alleviate the number of calls, the Department of Health in Osceola county had added an email option for residents.

People 65 years and older and health care personnel interested in receiving a COVID-19 vaccination can now email Osceola.Health@flhealth.gov.

Officials tell residents to include only the full name and phone number of the person looking to get vaccinated and to include “Vaccine” in the subject line.

READ: How to register for a COVID-19 vaccination in Central Florida

Health department staff will then call to schedule appointments based on vaccine availability.

The Florida Department of Health in Osceola County announced Monday that first responders and those 65 and older would be the first to get vaccinated for COVID-19.

According to state records, 1,349 people have already received a COVID-19 vaccination in the county.


Matt Reeser

Matt Reeser, WFTV.com

Matt Reeser joined WFTV in 1998 as a news photographer and has worked for television stations in Kentucky and West Virginia.