As monkeypox numbers climb in Orange County and the rest of Florida, the Florida Department of Health’s Orange County branch has opened up a web portal for appointments to receive the monkeypox/smallpox vaccine.
Monkeypox vaccinations in Florida have been hard to come by thus far, and the previous time Orange County received doses of the vaccine, appointments were spoken for almost immediately. The local office of the Department of Health has this week received more from the federal stockpile, and duly opened up appointment registration through a dedicated online portal.
A finite number of appointments will be available daily from Monday-Friday, with no allowance for walk-ups. Applicants through the portal do not have to live in Orange County. After a brief series of questions to ascertain risk factors, appointments can then be booked.
Priority for monkeypox vaccinations as of this writing are given to those who fit within certain risk profiles by the Department of Health, including:
Known contacts who are identified by public health via case investigation, contact tracing, and risk exposure assessments.
Laboratory workers who perform diagnostic testing for monkeypox and members of designated health care worker response teams designated by appropriate public health authorities.
Those who identify as gay or bisexual men, or other men who have sex with men.
On the first day the portal opened to the public, initial feedback from concerned users revealed frustration as available appointments filled up almost immediately and technical hiccups with the appointment system left some unable to register. On Friday, all appointments were gone quickly as well.
The Department of Health on Friday morning announced a Monkeypox Vaccine Event at Club Orlando set for Saturday from 3-7 p.m. The registration form is still up online but appointments appear to be mostly gone. Orlando’s LGBT+ Center held a similar event last weekend and appointments for 100 doses were filled within minutes. Supply in Central Florida appears to be nowhere near at parity with demand, even with reports of doses being rationed to stretch the supply further.
Orange County currently reports 99 cases of probable and confirmed monkeypox according to numbers published on Florida Department of Health’s website on Aug. 18. Statewide, Florida has confirmed over 1,300 cases, and the state confirmed the first case of pediatric monkeypox on Wednesday.
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