Cape Coral residents line up for 3rd day of vaccine rollout

On the third day of COVID-19 vaccinations, the energy continues to grow along with the the lines.

Lots of people are eager to get this vaccine. On Tuesday, Bill Taylor of Cape Coral said he planned to stay in the Cape Coral Cultural Park Theater line all night, and that he was willing to do whatever it takes to get the vaccine.

“I thought, instead of being anxious week after week after week, which is almost as bad as being anxious about the pandemic, I decided I’m going to bite the bullet and be out here all night if I have to and get the vaccine,” Taylor said.

There are three sites open Wednesday in Lee County. The theater location in Cape Coral starts giving shots at 9 a.m. You don’t need an appointment, but you must bring your I.D. This is intended for Lee County residents 65 and older and high-risk frontline health care workers, but people outside those categories won’t necessarily be refused a shot.

One father and daughter – ages 93 and 71, respectively – had friends holding their place in line because the father is unable to stand for too long. They arrived at the site at around 6 a.m., bringing blankets to stay warm.

Mayor Joe Coviello said the site will give more than 800 people the shot on Wednesday.

“The city’s role right now is to provide a facility like we have today that’s going to work and we’re providing also our first responders and much of our staff to be here as well. I’m sure all of that overtime is going to be covered under the CARES Act. But we’re happy to do it. We’re glad that people are coming out and wanting to get the vaccines,” he said.

Coviello said the site got a lot more of the vaccine than expected. It was slated to receive 300 but ended up with between 900 and 1,000.

Before you head out to try to get a vaccine, the Florida Department of Health in Lee County wants you to fill out a pre-vaccination checklist. It asks if you’ve had any other vaccines in the last two weeks, including your flu shot. The Centers for Disease Control recommends you wait 14 days between any vaccines. If you got the flu vaccine in that time, that’s one circumstance in which you could be turned away.