In an effort to vaccinate more seniors in Citrus County, the health department is working with community churches.

“John Wesley said do no harm, do good and stay in love with God. And we are trying to do that by doing good,” Pastor Joyce Dunne of Floral City United Methodist Church said.

Pastor Dunne and Reverend Jerry Belloit reached out to the health department to bring the Moderna vaccine to the church. 

“When Governor DeSantis had mentioned that he wanted to reach out to churches, at the time there was a big shortage of vaccines. So, that program got immediately, as soon as it started, it got put on hold,” Reverend Belloit said.

He added that his experience waiting in line for more than five hours for the vaccine pushed him to help make the process easier for seniors in the county.

Seniors get vaccinated at Floral City United Methodist Church in Citrus County (Spectrum News)

“I understand why we use the technology for the initial meeting to get as many people as possible, but for the older population some of them are getting left out,” he said.

The goal for the health department is to move around to different locations and tackle the issues of trust, transportation and technology that seniors face when deciding to get vaccinated.

“I think it’s really important that we are able to be a sight in a rural community because we have many members here in our community that just aren’t even willing to drive a half hour,” Pastor Dunne said.

Citrus County has reported just under 10,000 COVID cases and 419 deaths on their one year anniversary.