GREEN COVE SPRINGS – The county is set to receive the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine and will begin vaccinating people with it or one produced by Moderna.

Commissioners were warned the Pfizer vaccine isn’t going to miraculously bolster the supply numbers in the county. The demand far exceeds the supply that’s provided by the national and state governments.

“We have the people,” emergency services director John Ward said. “We could double the dosage if we had the supply.”

The supply simply isn’t there though and it’s unclear when it will be there. Clay County Florida Department of Health administrator Heather Huffman said during the Jan. 28 regular meeting the Pfizer vaccine will moderately increase the county’s doses.

Of the county’s population of 220,000, a little more 13,000 have been vaccinated, Huffman said. The county’s health department vaccine pod at the Clay County UF/IFAS Extension office at the fairgrounds is pivoting to the arrival of Pfizer’s vaccine. This vaccine requires ultra-cold storage, which presented a logistical challenge the department has already solved, and the county has already added additional vaccinations stations to its site to account.

Huffman didn’t specify how many Pfizer vaccines the county expects, but in previous weeks where the county has received new shipments of the Moderna vaccine, it received anywhere from 1,000 to 3,000 at a time. Simple math shows that a couple thousand won’t meet the demand, so it’s still going to be difficult to register for a vaccination time.

Ward said last week when new appointments went live, more than 45,000 unique visitors hit the site to get appointments. The county is not receiving anywhere near that many vaccines so many have been disappointed with the process.

Huffman said the Pfizer vaccine will go live at the same time that the county is administering additional first doses of Moderna as well as second doses for that vaccine, “so it’ll be a little crazy that week.”

The county is beginning to administer second doses of Moderna and Huffman said to expect more symptoms of sickness after it. She said you won’t be sick, but you might feel an effect of a sickness like a fever, soreness or just a generally “cruddy” feeling.

“What’s happening in your immune system is that the first shot is very similar to creating natural immunity and the second dose is creating those B cells,” Huffman said. “It’s a good sign to feel those effects [you’ve likely heard about] because it means your body is working overtime to create long term antibodies.”

In other news, the BCC approved the limited alcohol zone for this year’s Scottish Games on Feb. 27 with a 5-0 vote. This means the Scottish Games this year at the fairgrounds will have alcohol for sale in designated area like it did last year.