The Florida Department of Health in Pinellas County (DOH-Pinellas), in partnership with the Florida Department of Health, Florida Division of Emergency Management and Pinellas County Government, is providing COVID-19 vaccination sites.

To keep Florida residents and visitors safe and aware regarding the status of the virus, DOHPinellas will continue to issue this update every week. Registrations for vaccines in Pinellas are made via the CDR Maguire Patient Portal at www.PatientPortalFL.com or, for information, call (844) 770-8548.

County health departments have an important role to play in administering vaccine. Here’s a summary of some of our top efforts during April 19-25:

• DOH-Pinellas continues its health equity vaccination outreaches in underserved areas of the county. Despite wide availability of county, state and pharmacy sites in Pinellas, there are still members of the community experiencing social, economic or transportation challenges. (The photo at left shows a participant at a health equity outreach in Clearwater.) DOH-Pinellas has been working with the Pinellas County Urban League, Infinity Consultants, Tech House and the Foundation for a Healthy St. Pete to provide COVID-19 vaccines to homebound persons in St. Petersburg. WUSF-FM, the local National Public Radio affiliate, did a special multimedia report on the effort with the reporter accompanying the team as it provided vaccines. The report aired on 4/21/21 and is posted on their website here: https://wusfnews.wusf.usf.edu/health-news-florida/2021-04- 22/community-groups-team-up-to-vaccinate-homebound-residents-in-st-petersburg/

• With Pinellas County Government, DOH-Pinellas is sharing a partner toolkit with cities and organizations to encourage vaccinations. The toolkit has sample social media messaging, videos and talking points partners can share with their audiences. The intro video is posted here https://covid19.pinellascounty.org/vaccines/.

• Pinellas County and DOH-Pinellas met with communications from local colleges and universities to discuss campaign messaging to reach students and younger audiences.

Partnerships with area churches and organizations, fire/EMS personnel at community vaccination sites, Pinellas County Schools, Pinellas County Government and the Center for Health Equity continue.

DOH-Pinellas continues to fight to protect health and safety as the rollout of COVID-19 vaccine continues. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Nextdoor for agency updates.

Residents 16 and older can schedule appointments for Pfizer vaccines via the CDR HealthPro portal at https://www.patientportalfl.com.

For up-to-date information on vaccine availability in Pinellas County, visit https://covid19.pinellascounty.org/vaccines/

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For more information about DOH-Pinellas, go to www.PinellasHealth.com and follow us on Twitter @HealthyPinellas.

About the Florida Department of Health

The department, nationally accredited by the Public Health Accreditation Board, works to protect, promote and improve the health of all people in Florida through integrated state, county and community efforts.

Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter at @HealthyFla. For more information about the Florida Department of Health, please visit www.FloridaHealth.gov.