COVID-19 Vaccine Updates

Lee County Community Vaccination Site (Ages 65+ / healthcare workers only)

The Florida Department of Health in Lee County (DOH-Lee) is offering COVID-19 vaccine to high-risk frontline health care workers and those 65 and older.

Reservation Call Center is Closed
Lines will open on Wednesday, January 20th at 9 a.m. Phone Number: 866-200-3468 Please do not call until the lines are open. The reservation slots are expected to be claimed quickly, likely within minutes.

Second Dose Appointment Calls are happening Now
Watch for text messages informing you that you will be receiving a call soon Answer unknown numbers Check the settings on your mobile device to ensure unknown callers will be accepted and are not blocked Read more about second dose appointments

Vaccination site location (reservations required)

Lee County Vaccination Site - Chamberlin Parkway
North Parking Lot (across from old terminal)
Southwest Florida International Airport
16000 Chamberlin Parkway
Fort Myers, FL 33913
Click here for a map of the testing site

Vaccination reservation dates and hours

Thursday, January 21 (reservations required)
Friday, January 22 (reservations required)
Additional dates will be posted here as the Florida Department of Health announce them.

Prepare before you go

There is no fee for the vaccine.
Reservations are required to visit the vaccination site. You should plan to arrive no earlier than 45 minutes before your designated appointment time.
Please bring government-issued identification (Healthcare workers bring a copy of your ID badge or a current paystub).
Be prepared by bringing water, snacks, and any medication you need. Wear comfortable clothing and shoes appropriate for the weather conditions.
Expedite the process and print and complete the FDOH Moderna vaccine screening and consent form before you arrive.
Review information from Moderna on what to expect post-vaccination and information on the Emergency Use Authorization (EUA)
What to expect at the vaccination site | Vaccination site tram information

Frequently Asked Questions

Vaccination Site FAQs

The Florida Department of Health and Lee County Government have provided answers to frequently asked questions about the vaccination site's operations.

Who can get an appointment?

Currently, these vaccines are only available for people age 65+ and frontline healthcare workers. Please remember to bring identification and, for healthcare workers, a copy of your license issued by the Florida Department of Health (MQA) and proof of employment in the form of an employer ID badge or recent paystub.

How do I register for an appointment?

We have a call center staffed by trained operators who will take calls and arrange appointments for the number of vaccines available. The number to call is 866-200-3468. TTY number (Telecommunications Device for the Deaf): 787-522-5904.
Once the weekly allotted number of appointments are filled, callers will receive a recorded message encouraging them to visit www.leegov.com/vaccine for more information about future appointment openings.

Can one person schedule appointments for others in their household?

Yes, for qualified recipients age 65+ and/or frontline healthcare workers that live in the same household.

How does the vaccination site work?

This is a single-location vaccination site. It is located east of Interstate 75 off of Daniels Parkway at the site of the old airport terminal parking lot. Message boards will direct traffic to Paul J. Doherty Parkway. A parking area is available. People who have an appointment should arrive no more than 45 minutes before their registered time to avoid long waits and minimize large crowds to meet social distancing in accordance with CDC guidelines.

What are the reservation call center hours?

Incoming calls are only accepted to the call center for limited time frames as vaccine doses are made available. These time frames will be announced on the website, social media, and traditional media. If you leave a call back number, operators at the call center will return calls between the hours of 8 a.m.-8 p.m.

What should I expect in terms of traffic and parking?

Approaching the vaccine site, you will see roadside message boards along Daniels Parkway, Chamberlin Parkway, and Paul J. Doherty Parkway with instructions on how to approach the parking area, which direction to go, and where to park. Click here for a map.

How does the complimentary tram provide sanitation and social distance for riders?

These are the same trams used on Fort Myers Beach and we are taking the same precautions in accordance with CDC guidelines. The trams have safety shields between rows to separate passengers; sanitizing stations or sanitizer; masks available for those who need them; and all trams are wiped down after each trip. In addition, there is no charge for riding the tram from the parking area to the vaccine entrance and therefore no payment process to manage.

What if I prefer to walk from the parking area to the vaccination site?

Walking is absolutely fine. It is a short distance between the parking lot and the vaccination site and trams are provided as a complimentary option only.

I have a reservation for an appointment at the site, but I do not have transportation. How can I get there?

If you cannot get a ride from family, friends or neighbors, you may wish to use LeeTran’s regular fixed Route 50 public transportation service heading to the main Southwest Florida International Airport terminal. From the LeeTran RSW terminal stop, which is near rental car pick up, you will be able to catch a special complimentary shuttle from the terminal to the vaccination site parking lot. The shuttle will be timed with the Route 50’s arrival at RSW. LeeTran also will offer a return to the RSW terminal via the shuttle so you can catch LeeTran’s regular Route 50 service to leave the airport.

Can anybody go to the vaccination site?

No. Only individuals with appointments will be allowed into the parking area. There will be checkpoints at the traffic entrance to the parking area and at the entrance to the vaccination site. Those without an appointment will be turned away.

What if I miss my appointed time?

Don’t worry. If you have an appointment, you won’t be turned away. Just enter when you arrive and you’ll be moved through the vaccination process and given your vaccine as planned with as little waiting as possible.

Am I going to have a long wait and do I need to come early?

We have an appointment scheduling and vaccine reservation system to avoid people waiting long lines. This is not a situation where you should arrive hours early to wait. You will have an appointment and a vaccine. We need to maintain social distancing standards and do not want vulnerable people sitting in their cars, or out in the open, for extended periods of time. You should plan to arrive no earlier than 45 minutes before your designated appointment time. For your safety, please wait at home until it’s time to leave for your appointment.

What can I expect after I receive my vaccination injection? What if I have a reaction?

Once your vaccine is administered, you will be asked to remain at the vaccination site for at least 15 minutes so the staff can observe you for any potential reactions. Once you have been cleared to leave, you will receive instructions from the vaccine site on what to do if you should have a reaction to the vaccine after you leave. Call 911 and seek medical attention right away if you feel ill and have concerns about an allergic reaction.
You will also receive a vaccine card with the vaccine dose and date information recorded. You will need to keep that with you and bring it to your second dose appointment for verification and second dose information recording.

What if I need to cancel my appointment?

If you cancel or do not appear for your appointment, you will not be rescheduled until there are new appointment openings.

When will the next round of vaccinations take place for people under 65 years of age?

Updates will be posted on www.leegov.com/vaccine, on social media, and provided to local news media at regular intervals when vaccines for populations under 65 years of age are available.

If I'm a veteran, can I get vaccinated through the VA?

The federal VA is handling vaccination appointments for 75 and older. Veterans can call the VA COVID-19 Call Center: 727-395-2400.

How can I get a vaccination site for my HOA or community?

The collaboration between FDOH-Lee and Lee County has the capacity to handle additional vaccine as it becomes more readily available. The current site has operated at 2,400 doses per day with room for expansion should it become necessary. We are committed to administering as much vaccine as possible.

We appreciate that communities are reaching out to offer space for a vaccination site and/or requesting one. But at this time, supply-and-demand dynamics make it so vaccinations will continue at the site near the airport to streamline getting as many shots to the community as possible.

Is there a plan for how second doses will be distributed or scheduled?

The Florida Department of Health-Lee (FDOH) has received second doses of vaccine for seniors 65 and older and frontline medical workers who received their first doses of the Moderna vaccine at various county sites Dec. 28-30.
Those sites included: Estero Recreation Center, old Bonita Springs Library site, Fort Myers Stars Complex, East County Regional Library, Lakes Regional Library, Cape Coral Cultural Park Theatre and North Fort Myers Recreation Center.
FDOH-Lee has contact information for all individuals who received their first dose at these sites.
The state vendor, Tidal Basin, will call all individuals to schedule second-dose appointments. Those calls will begin Friday, Jan 15, for appointments to be scheduled on Wednesday, Jan. 27, and Thursday, Jan. 28. Not all individuals will receive calls Friday. Calls will continue through the weekend until Tidal Basin has scheduled all appointments.
FDOH-Lee and Lee County ask that individuals anticipating a second-dose appointment call do the following:

Watch for text messages informing you that you will be receiving a call soon.
Answer unknown numbers.
Check the settings on your mobile device to ensure unknown callers will be accepted and are not blocked.

Tidal Basin will attempt three phone calls to each individual to schedule the follow-up appointment.

FDOH-Lee will administer all second-dose vaccinations at the county’s site near Southwest Florida International Airport off Daniels Parkway. No second doses will be administered at parks, libraries or recreation centers.

People with second-dose appointments will need to bring two items to their appointments:

A government-issued ID.
The COVID-19 Vaccination Record Card received when the first shot was administered. (If you have lost your card, staff on site can look up the information.)

Information about second doses for people who received their shots in early January at the airport site off Daniels Parkway will be announced soon. No appointments for those individuals are being scheduled at this time.

Questions can be directed to the Tidal Basin Help Line at 888-499-0851.

Call Center FAQs

The Florida Department of Health has partnered with a vendor to handle the call center and reservation system for the vaccination site. The vendor has provided the following answers to frequently asked questions about the call center.

What changes have been made to the call center to avoid technical problems?

The state’s vendor, Tidal Basin, has made technological and customer-service upgrades in the past week, which necessitates a new phone number. That toll-free number is 866-200-3468. Please note: The call line will not open until noon Wednesday, Jan. 13. (People who inadvertently call last week’s toll-free number will automatically be rerouted to the new number.) Since last week, the vendor also outlined steps to increase call capacity and improve the performance of the reservation system, including:

Transitioning to a larger call center platform to provide better customer service and avoid dropped calls/busy signals
Updating technology to ensure no callbacks get filtered out as spam and adding a more flexible interactive voice response system for quicker call handling
Adding additional live agents to call center operations

What if my call is disconnected?

Some callers timed out while in the process of responding to the automated prompts minutes into the reservation window. The vendor says that as this occurred, the system was quickly closed to manage appointment capacity.
While some callers reported being immediately disconnected mid-stream while in the automated greeting system, other callers received a recording saying appointments were full.
Unfortunately, with the volume of calls coming through the phone lines, sometimes calls do get disconnected.

What if I never made it through or received an error message or message my call could not be completed as dialed?

If you received a message stating your call could not be completed as dialed, that may have been due to the volume of calls going to the various phone companies and cell-service providers. You should not hear strange sounds or tones when you call. That means that your call did not get connected to the state vendor’s call center. We understand this may be frustrating, but when the next opportunity for reservations opens, what you can do is keep trying to call back until you either get through to an agent or receive a callback prompt. To check when reservations for vaccinations will resume, check www.leegov.com/vaccine or monitor local media outlets.

What if I get routed to an agent who asked for my credit card information or asked if I’d like to receive a gift card?

If this happens, hang up immediately to avoid any potential scams. We are investigating why this happened to a few residents during Monday, January 4th appointment scheduling event, but do not have all the information at this time. You do not need to supply any credit card or social security information to schedule your appointment. This is a free service. During the initial scheduling call, you will be asked for date of birth and when you speak to a live operator, they will ask qualifying questions to confirm you meet the scheduling requirements (i.e. 65+ or healthcare worker) plus your name, contact info and mother’s maiden name.

What if I’m one of the people who gets a message saying all appointments are taken?

You will have an opportunity to make an appointment when the call center opens again during the next scheduling event. As Florida DOH-Lee receives vaccine shipments the phone lines will reopen in a similar way. We will have information on www.leegov.com/vaccine, on social media, and announced through traditional media at regular intervals for the foreseeable future.

Why was the call center closed so soon after opening? It seems impossible that all the vaccines were scheduled that fast.

The call line opened at noon as scheduled. None of the 1,800 appointments was filled prior to noon.
The state vendor reports it received about 35,000 calls per second once the reservation line opened at noon today. The vendor, Tidal Basin, had about 1,000 staff answering calls.
Some callers timed out while in the process of responding to the automated prompts minutes into the reservation window. The vendor says that as this occurred, the system was quickly closed to manage appointment capacity.
While some callers reported being immediately disconnected mid-stream while in the automated greeting system, other callers received a recording saying appointments were full.
The vendor’s Help Line is available at 888-499-0851. The Help Line is not able to schedule appointments. Immediately following the reservation line closure, the Help Line experienced a brief period of overwhelming call volume. The vendor bolstered staffing, and calls continued to be answered at desired service level with wait times averaging 10 minutes or less.