City to expand COVID-19 testing, vaccines to 5 new spots across Duval

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The city of Jacksonville will add five new COVID-19 testing and vaccine sites across Duval County as early as Aug. 16.

The City Council unanimously passed an emergency resolution on Tuesday night to use $4 million in federal relief funds to expand testing as the delta variant surges.

The sites include:

• Lane Wiley Senior Center, operated by Agape Health (testing and vaccines).
• Clanzel T. Brown Community Center, operated by Agape Health (testing and vaccines).
• Beaches location (former Kmart), operated by Telescope Health (testing only).
• Emmett Reed Community Center, operated by the Duval Department of Health (testing and vaccines).
• Cuba Hunter Community Center (testing and vaccines).

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The administration expects to open at least three of the sites by Aug. 16. The two sites run by the Department of Health should open Aug. 23.

Testing and vaccines will be free.

Mia Jones, the CEO of Agape Health, said the situation is urgent.

In the month of July, Agape tested about 1,300 people. By the end of August, Jones expects to test more than 4,000.

“Those numbers are not sitting back and waiting for us to get ready. People are getting sick every single day, and they don’t know if they’re infecting somebody else,” she said.

Telescope Health’s location in Neptune Beach is already up and running. It is a drive-thru site, and its co-founder, Dr. Matthew Thompson, said it’s testing more than 100 people daily.

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“We’re seeing a lot of people coming through that. There is a major need right now,” Thompson said.

Councilman Garrett Dennis also proposed using $5 million in emergency funds to expand testing. He tabled the proposal on Tuesday night after the mayor’s proposal was announced.

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