Manatee gets surprise supply of COVID vaccine. Officials urge patience as 95,600 seniors wait
Shorty after an announcement that Manatee County would receive limited or no additional COVID-19 vaccines this week due to supply chain issues, more vaccines arrived.
Manatee County unexpectedly received additional doses of COVID-19 on Monday, according to county spokesman Nicholas Azzara.
County officials could not immediately confirm the number of additional doses that arrived. However, Florida Department of Health spokesman Jason Mahon told the Bradenton Herald via email that Manatee and Sarasota counties are receiving 1,000 doses each of the Moderna vaccine.
County staff will begin to contact individuals randomly selected for vaccination from the Vaccine Standby Pool on Tuesday. Those who have already signed up to be vaccinated simply need to wait and see if they are contacted, according to the county.
“Please do not call 311 to ask if you’ve been selected,” the county shared on Monday night. “Instead look for a call from 941-742-4300.”
Local officials will also provide an update on vaccine distribution plans during a briefing to the Manatee Board of County Commissioners at 11 a.m. Tuesday.
Thousands of seniors waiting for vaccine
As of Tuesday, 95,600 seniors have joined Manatee County’s recently launched COVID-19 Vaccine Standby Pool in hopes of receiving an extra layer of protection against the novel coronavirus.
But, after 5,457 people were vaccinated during the first two weeks of the county’s drive-thru program, distribution of the vaccine has come to a standstill as the county awaited additional supplies.
County officials earlier said they are eager to resume vaccinations, but didn’t yet know when more of the highly-sought after vaccines would be designated by federal and state authorities for Manatee County.
“We’ve been grateful to receive the doses we’ve received in Manatee County but at this time there’s not enough supply of the vaccine to meet the extremely high number of people wanting to be vaccinated,” County Administrator Cheri Coryea said in a prepared statement on Monday. “We’ll continue to work with our state and federal officials to expedite the shipment of vaccines to Manatee County in order to minimize the wait for those seniors who want to be vaccinated in our community.”
In the interim, local health and emergency officials are urging patience to those awaiting the vaccine. Seniors who have not yet done so can sign up for the Vaccine Standby Pool at vax.mymanatee.org . Those unable to register online can dial 311 between 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday to be added to the list. Seniors will be randomly selected from the waiting list as vaccine supply becomes available, according to Manatee County.
As new vaccine shipments arrive, a set number of names will randomly be pulled from the list, and county staff will contact those who have been selected. Seniors who have signed up should look for a call from 941-742-4300 (the county earlier provided a different number to some residents that was incorrect). If a person selected for vaccination cannot be reached after two contact attempts, they will be placed back in the Standby Pool.
The vaccine is provided free of charge for people 65 and over, and no proof of county residency or U.S. citizenship is required in accordance with state guidelines.
This story was originally published January 11, 2021 at 3:31 PM.