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COVID vaccination site at Orange Co. Convention Center to permanently close Friday

By FOX 35 News Staff
Updated  May 21, 2021 9:34am EDT
Orange County
FOX 35 Orlando

Last day for vaccinations at convention center

The COVID-19 vaccination site at the Orange County Convention Center is set to close Friday after 14 months. Friday is the last day people can make a same-day appointment to get the vaccine.

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. - The COVID-19 vaccination site at the Orange County Convention Center is set to close Friday after 14 months.
Friday is the last day people can make a same-day appointment to get the vaccine. 

Staff will administer the single-dose Johnson & Johnson COVID vaccine to people 18 and older and children 12-15 years-old can get their first Pfizer vaccine dose if they schedule an appointment.

Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings said the vaccination site is closing because the convention center has more than 80 in-person events scheduled through the end of the year and it cannot accommodate the events and vaccination site at the same time.

The Orange County Convention Center’s website shows several events are scheduled, including a basketball tournament, RV and travel shows, and trade shows.

Since opening in late March 2020, the Florida Division of Emergency Management said staff at the convention center have administered nearly 500,000 COVID tests. More than 257,000 COVID antigen swabs were taken and almost 200,000 COVID tests were administered.

RELATED: Pfizer, Moderna: 1st COVID-19 vaccine recipients could need booster by September

The Florida Department of Health in Orange County said more than 270,000 COVID vaccinations have been administered since vaccinations started at the convention center on December 26, 2020. The site offered vaccinations six days a week, including a few Sundays.

Orange County is now offering COVID vaccinations at five county-operated sites:

  • Barnett Park: 4801 W. Colonial Drive, Orlando, FL 32808, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. 7 days a week, no appointment necessary
  • Goldenrod Park Recreation Center Gymnasium: 4863 N. Goldenrod Rd., Winter Park, FL 32792
  • Meadow Woods Recreation Center Gymnasium (walk-up), 1751 Rhode Island Woods Circle, Orlando, FL 32824
  • South Econ Recreation Center Gymnasium (walk-up), 3850 S. Econlockhatchee Trail, Orlando, FL 32829
  • West Orange Recreation Center Gymnasium (walk-up)

Operating hours for all 4 locations:

  • Closed on Mondays
  • Tuesday through Thursday: 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
  • Friday through Sunday: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

For more information on the county’s vaccination sites and to pre-register for an appointment, go HERE.