Manatee County hospitals expected to get Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine next week

Hospitals in Manatee and Sarasota counties will receive their first round of COVID-19 vaccines next week, according to Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office.

Bradenton-area medical facilities were not included in Florida’s first distribution of vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech, which arrived on Monday. The state was supposed to receive roughly 450,000 more doses of the Pfizer vaccine over the next two weeks, but delivery may now be delayed due to production issues.

Next week’s shipment of vaccines will come from Moderna, the second company to have its vaccine considered by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for emergency use during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

The FDA has yet to grant the emergency authorization for Moderna’s vaccine, but the agency is expected to do so after it rated the vaccine as “highly effective” in a review this week.

In its own studies, Moderna reported that the vaccine had an efficacy rate of 94% in preventing the virus. Unlike Pfizer’s vaccine, Moderna says its vaccine does not require extreme cold to remain stable, a factor that makes it easier to distribute widely.

Florida is prioritizing health care workers who operate in high-risk environments, long-term care facility residents and seniors ages 65 and up for vaccination.

Local hospitals expected to receive doses of the vaccine are: Manatee Memorial Hospital, Blake Medical Center, Lakewood Ranch Medical Center, Sarasota Memorial Hospital, Doctors Hospital of Sarasota and Encompass Health Rehabilitation Hospital of Sarasota.

To date, Manatee County has had 19,389 documented cases of COVID-19 and 400 deaths from the viral disease. Sarasota County has had 16,189 recorded cases and 450 deaths. Case volume and positivity rates have been on the rise in the area and statewide over the past several months.

Florida residents can sign up for updates on the COVID-19 vaccine by texting FLCOVID19 to 888777.