Hillsborough County to resume giving seniors COVID-19 vaccine this week

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) – After administering the first round of COVID-19 vaccines to seniors last week, The Florida Department of Health in Hillsborough County is set to resume vaccinating seniors ages 65 and older on Wednesday.

The health department has received another vaccine shipment containing 9,000 doses. The vaccines will be administered at three distribution sites Wednesday through Friday, according to a news release.

To get vaccinated, residents ages 65 and older will have to make an appointment by calling (850) 848-5287 or visiting patientportalfl.com. The registration period begins Tuesday, Jan. 12 and will end once slots run out.

Seniors can only make an appointment during the designated time frame specific to their age group:

• Residents age 85 and older can book an appointment between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m.
• Residents age 75 to 84 can book an appointment between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.
• Residents age 65 to 74 can book an appointment between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m.
• After 5 p.m., any resident age 65 and older can book any remaining slots while appointments remain available.

The three vaccine distribution sites are:

• Vance Vogel Sports Complex, 13012 Bullfrog Creek Road, Gibsonton
• Strawberry Festival Fairgrounds, 2700 W. Risk Street, Plant City
• Ed Radice Sports Complex , 14720 Ed Radice Drive, Tampa

The sites will remain open Wednesday through Friday until all doses have been given.

Hillsborough County’s vaccine rollout got off to a rough start last week with websites crashing, phone lines going down and sites reaching full capacity. The county later suspended its online registration site and told residents to make appointments by phone. It quickly ran out of slots for vaccine appointments.

The health department said it had fired OnSite Safe, the vendor in charge of registrations.