Duval County

Winn-Dixie, Harveys Supermarket launch vaccination sites in Jacksonville area

JACKONVILLE, Fla. — Southeastern Grocers, parent company to Harveys Supermarket and Winn-Dixie, began administering free Moderna COVID-19 vaccines by appointment in Northeast Florida, and across the state.

Action News Jax was there as Robert and Lessie Tillman became the first two people to receive the vaccine at the Harveys on Market Street in downtown Jacksonville.

“I didn’t even feel the shot!” Robert said.

The couple tells Action News Jax they’ve already had the virus. That’s why they’re grateful to receive their first round of the vaccine.

“We really had a hard time. I really didn’t think we were going to make it at one time,” Lessie said.

The company launched vaccination sites at ten Northeast Florida locations, including the Harveys on Market Street, four Winn-Dixie stores in Jacksonville, and five Winn-Dixie locations in Baker, Bradford, Clay and Putnam Counties.

QUICK LINKS: How to make a COVID-19 vaccine appointment in the Jacksonville area

100 first-round doses will be administered at the downtown Harveys through Wednesday.

“It’s a really, really underserved part of town, and we feel like we could have greater, greater, impact with servicing the at-risk population that’s right here,” said District Manager Kendrick Hobbs.

The company says it received 8,100 doses through state and federal partnerships.

While the company’s initial 8,100 appointments have been booked, Hobbs says Southeastern Grocers plans to continuously launch vaccination sites as doses become available.

He tells Action News Jax they plan to launch a vaccine site at the Harveys Supermarket in Moncrief in the next phase of their rollout.

“As we rollout phase two, that store will be included as well,” said Hobbs. “… As soon as those vaccines are allocated out, we have a very, very robust plan.”

Hobbs says there’s no timeline on when the vaccine site will be launched at the Harveys location.

Coronavirus vaccine: County-by-county plan for Northeast Florida, Southeast Georgia

He tells us new appointments are made available as the company receives doses.

“We’ll notify the community as soon as we get those vaccines,” Hobbs said.