Manatee’s COVID-19 Vaccine Standby Pool sees early success. Here’s how many have signed up
More than 32,000 people seeking a COVID-19 shot have successfully joined Manatee County’s Vaccine Standby Pool, which launched late Thursday night.
The new system replaces the first-come, first-served registration process that left many residents frustrated due to technical problems and a short supply of vaccines. The Vaccine Standby Pool is available for anyone 65 or older by visiting Vax.MyManatee.org.
Thursday night’s launch wasn’t seamless. Shortly after the form went live around 10 p.m., the system went down for about 10 minutes. In a statement posted to Twitter, Manatee County Government urged residents to remain patient.
“Remember: It’s not a race and there’s no advantage for enrolling early! We’ll be helping folks make appointments as soon as more doses arrive,” the message said.
Public Safety Director Jacob Saur said the waiting list system is already a success. He noted that tens of thousands of people no longer have to worry about getting onto the list.
“I think it’s amazing that we were able to get an improved website up and running, and from 10 p.m. last night, over 30,000 people have either gone and signed up or called 311,” he said.
The Vaccine Standby Pool is a waiting list that will randomly select those who have signed up to make an appointment once the county receives additional vaccine shipments. Because the process is random, there is no benefit to joining the list immediately.
Those who need assistance with being added to the list can call the county’s 311 hotline to have a receptionist sign them up.
The vaccine is provided free of charge for anyone 65 or older. There is no proof of Manatee residency or U.S. citizenship required. However, those seeking a vaccine will need to remain in the area to receive the second dose about a month later. Appointments for the second shot will be made at a later date.
According to the Florida Department of Health, there are around 100,000 people in Manatee County who meet the age requirement to receive the vaccine in the early stages of the rollout. Officials have said they expect the process to take several months, especially considering supply chain issues. The entire state of Florida expects to receive just 250,000 vaccines next week.
Visiting Manatee’s COVID-19 drive-thru vaccination site Thursday morning, Gov. Ron DeSantis praised the county’s distribution efficiency and lauded their new waiting list system.
“They’re doing it, I think, in a smart way. You don’t have to rush to do it because you do it, it goes into a lottery, to decompress some of the crush you see on these systems when things like that first go online,” DeSantis said. “We’re happy with what they’re doing.”
Impressed by Manatee’s operation, DeSantis directed a shipment of 500 more vaccines Thursday night. The county has already selected and contacted 500 people to receive those vaccines Friday afternoon.
“As of 9 a.m., 500 of those names were picked,” Saur explained, noting that the county booked all of the appointments by noon. “We’ve got 500 more shots going in arms today.”
More appointments will be scheduled as the county receives more doses of the vaccine. For more information, visit www.MyManatee.org/Vaccine.
This story was originally published January 8, 2021 at 2:11 PM.
