Vaccine site opens at Tampa Greyhound Track

A FEMA-coordinated mass COVID-19 community vaccination site opens Wednesday morning at the Tampa Greyhound Track in Sulphur Springs and will operate from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., seven days a week.

The state of play: The site will accept walk-ups only and will first vaccinate law enforcement officers, firefighters and school employees ages 50 and older, plus residents 65 and older and those with medical conditions that make them "extremely vulnerable."

The site can provide up to 2,000 doses of vaccine per day. The FEMA project also includes two roving sites that can administer another 500 vaccinations per day.

• The roving sites will be in Progress Village March 3-6, Winter Haven March 3-10, and the Brandon campus of Hillsborough Community College March 7-10.
• The first-in-the-nation "hub and spoke" distribution system is aimed at minority and underserved communities, U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor (D-Tampa) said yesterday.

What they're saying: "When the state of Florida gets a cold, the minority communities get pneumonia," added Rosa Mckinzy Cambridge, president of the Black Nurses Association Tampa Bay.

Where it stands: Half of Florida's 4.3 million 65+ population have been vaccinated, per Jared Moskowitz, director of Florida's Division of Emergency Management.

• The new walk-up vaccine sites in Tampa are in addition to existing vaccine sites at pharmacies, grocers, Tampa Family Health Centers, and Raymond James Stadium.
• Make an appointment and get more information here.

This story first appeared in the Axios Tampa Bay newsletter, designed to help readers get smarter, faster on the most consequential news unfolding in their own backyard.

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