Those who received first vaccine dose from Dec. 28-30 will receive call this weekend for second dose in Lee County

About 6,000 people should be receiving calls over the weekend to set up appointments for the second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

If you received a shot between Dec. 28 and Dec. 30, you can expect a phone call. Lee County said operators are working through a database to call everyone between the hours of 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. from Friday through Sunday. Second dose appointments will be scheduled for Wednesday, Jan. 27, and Thursday, Jan. 28.

In order to make sure they don’t miss the call, people are answering every call, including telemarketers. They say they are avoiding calls from family and friends and are clearing their schedules to be by their phones. Second doses will be administered at the county’s site near Southwest Florida International Airport off Daniels Parkway.

Those who will be called are individuals who stood in line at the Estero Recreation Center, Old Bonita Springs Library site, Fort Myers Stars Complex, East County Regional Library, Lakes Regional Park, Cape Coral Cultural Park Theatre and North Fort Myers Recreation Center.

Gail and James Krauss, who survived lymphoma, got their first COVID-19 vaccine shot after waiting in line for 14 hours at Lakes Regional Park.

Three weeks later, the couple has stressed over how they will receive their second dose.

Every time their phones ring they wonder if this is the call they’ve been waiting for.

“They’ll text us,” Gail Krauss said. “Then they’ll call three times. If we don’t pick up the third time, we’re out. So we’re keeping the phones close today. And keeping them charged.”

The wait is emotional for some.

“I feel like a ping pong ball getting knocked around, and I get really irritated when people are messing around with people’s medical needs,” said Sally Harrison-Pepper, who received her first dose in Estero.

Harrison-Pepper and her husband Andy were 35th in line at the very first vaccination site.

The wait has been agonizing and physically painful for her husband who has been off his immunosuppressants, said Harrison-Pepper, who has lupus.

“I have to keep saying, Andy, sit down. Andy, lay down. Andy, don’t pick that up. Don’t try to carry that. He wants to be whole,” Harrison-Pepper said. “It’s more than pain. It’s agony.”

TIP FOR RECEIVING A CALL:

Everyone should receive a text message and three chances to answer the phone call.
Those waiting should check settings on their mobile device to make sure unknown callers will be accepted and not blocked.