Are you waiting for a second dose of COVID vaccine? Pay close attention to your phone
Seniors who are due for their second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine will be getting a text message or call with the details of how to get their booster shots.
Starting at 3 p.m. Wednesday, seniors who were vaccinated between Dec. 30 and Jan. 1 began getting texts or calls with the appointment information. These second doses will be administered on Jan. 26 at Tom Bennett Park, 400 Cypress Creek Blvd, Bradenton.
If the phone number used to register is recognized as a cell phone, the automated system will send a text message from 88911 with the appointment information and will ask the person to confirm by responding with a “1” in a text message. If the phone number used during registration was a landline, the person will receive a phone call from 941-742-4300 with an automated message providing the appointment information and will ask the person to press “1” to confirm.
Anyone who does not confirm, including missing the call, will get a follow-up call from county employees at 311.
“In order for that call not to get flagged as Spam by some phones, we’re strongly recommending that seniors add the phone number to their list of contacts beforehand,” Public Safety Director Jacob Saur said. “If they can do that, their phone will recognize the call coming from a known party and we’ll be able to connect with you for that second appointment.”
Manatee County has not yet received the vaccines needed for the second doses — an issue that has been of concern across the country since news broke that the federal government had not set aside vaccine for second doses. Florida, however, has told county emergency management officials that it has 430,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine set aside for second doses.
Anyone who received their first dose on or after Jan. 15, will not be notified and should already have appointment scheduled for their second dose.
The county already administered 195 second doses to frontline first responders last week at the county’s Public Safety complex.
This story was originally published January 20, 2021 at 4:13 PM.
