TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) – A venue used to hosting raucous football crowds transformed in 2020 into a central part of Leon County’s pandemic response.
Now in 2021, Florida A&M’s Bragg Memorial Stadium may soon provide another benefit to Tallahassee.
It could become a major vaccine distributor in the weeks ahead.
On Monday, Governor Ron DeSantis announced plans to convert state-run testing sites into vaccine drive-thru locations. He was light on specifics and didn’t name exact locations, but indicated the number of sites is contingent on how quickly the state’s vaccine supply can increase.
So will FAMU’s site be considered? The school’s director of student heath services hopes so.
“We thought that Bragg would be a good location to offer the vaccine,” said Tanya Tatum. She says the school had hopes for vaccine distribution months before federal approval.
Tatum said current talks are in early phases and require cooperation with state and local health officials. Right now, the Leon County Health Department is handling vaccinations for seniors through a limited online appointment system.
“It’s going to be absolutely important to get as many individuals as possible to take this vaccine to get us past this pandemic,” she said.
“Whatever we can do to facilitate that, we want to be able to do that.”
According to a press release from the governor’s office, more details are expected later this week.
WCTV reached out to the Leon County Department of Health to see if there are plans in place to utilize Bragg. A state DOH spokes person said “The Department of Health is evaluating all testing sites for potential use as vaccine sites. Details will be announced on individual sites in the coming weeks.”
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