DeSantis praises Manatee’s COVID vaccine rollout, hints at larger shipments soon
Rebounding from a series of sign-up issues, Manatee County has become a state leader in vaccine distribution, according to Gov. Ron DeSantis.
DeSantis visited the county’s distribution site at Tom Bennett Park in Bradenton Thursday morning. He said that while the state has struggled to receive larger deliveries of the vaccine, Manatee has set the standard for getting it out to residents.
“We’re happy with what they’re doing. We’re glad to have provided them with vaccines. I told my folks to make sure we continue sending vaccines to this area in this vaccine site because they’re making good use of it,” DeSantis said. “I think they have the capacity to expand this, and we get more vaccines, we definitely want to see that expanded.”
Speaking with the media, DeSantis also hinted at providing larger quantities of the vaccine to Manatee, highlighting the ability to inject them quickly and efficiently.
“As we get more supply, I can send more to Manatee County and they can do more,” DeSantis said. “We think they’re doing it right.”
Public Safety Director Jacob Saur said it was humbling experience to receive kudos from Florida’s executive branch, pointing to months of teamwork and collaboration throughout county government’s various departments.
“It’s a really cohesive working group and that type of working team is not available everywhere. This group has constantly worked together for the betterment of the community,” Saur said. “I think it’s awesome that the governor and the Florida Department of Emergency Management recognize what we’re doing here.”
The governor’s press conference comes just one day after the Manatee Board of County Commissioners held a special meeting to discuss a new method for signing up to receive the vaccine.
Instead of a first-come, first-served registration system, county officials approved a Vaccine Standby Pool that allows people to enter a waiting list. Once new vaccines are available, residents will be randomly selected from that pool to schedule their vaccine appointment.
The standby system is expected to resolve capacity issues that led to website crashes and general frustration as residents rushed to register for a vaccine.
Officials plan to launch the vaccine standby program online at 10 p.m. Thursday. Starting Friday morning at 8., seniors may also register by phone by calling the county’s 311 hotline.
“If, for some reason, you’re not able to register at one time, you should have no problems registering another time,” County Administrator Cheri Coryea said. “It won’t impact your chances of getting a vaccination appointment.”
Tom Bennett Park, 400 Cypress Creek Blvd., is the county’s drive-thru station for COVID-19 vaccine appointments. Using its limited supply, the county is able to vaccinate about 700 people a day. Saur, the public safety director, has expressed confidence in the county’s ability to vaccinate as many as 2,000 people a day.
State Sen. Jim Boyd, who also attended Thursday’s news conference, noted that supply chain issues are preventing the county and the state from significantly ramping up vaccine distribution. Boyd said he has worked closely with state leaders to ensure Manatee County receives steady shipments of the vaccine.
According to DeSantis, the state of Florida will receive a shipment of about 250,000 vaccines next week.
“More doses are coming our way and Manatee has demonstrated its ability to handle those,” Boyd, R-Bradenton, said. “We can take the volume of shots as they get them to us.”
“Manatee has adjusted on the fly. Most everybody wants this vaccine as soon as it’s available,” he said. “The demand is high and the supply is short. Manatee has done a good job of that. I’m very proud of our community and how they’ve handled it.”
In the future, Manatee hopes to expand vaccine availability by partnering with private physicians and MCR Health to offer more opportunities to receive a shot.
