4,500 COVID-19 vaccine appointments to be scheduled as Manatee receives new doses
Another round of COVID-19 vaccines are available in Manatee County, giving 4,500 seniors and frontline healthcare workers new opportunities to be inoculated.
Names will be randomly selected from the county’s Vaccine Standby Pool, and callers will reach out to those who have been chosen starting Monday, according to a press release. Appointments will be scheduled for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday at Tom Bennett Park, 400 Cypress Creek Blvd, Bradenton.
To sign up for the Vaccine Standby Pool, you must be at least 65 years old or a patient-facing healthcare worker. A recent change also requires vaccine recipients to show proof of Florida residence with an ID or utility bill statement. To sign up, visit Vax.MyManatee.org or call the county’s 311 hotline for assistance. For healthcare workers, visit Vax.MyManatee.org/frontline.
Manatee is also beginning to schedule second-dose appointments for those who received the Pfizer vaccine on Jan. 8. Those vaccine recipients will be contacted with an automated call or text to confirm their appointment. These second-dose appointments will be administered at the Manatee County Public Safety Center, 2101 47th Terrace East, Bradenton.
Second-dose appointments for those Pfizer vaccine recipients will be between 8 a.m. and noon Jan. 29, according to a news release.
Second-dose appointments for those who received the Moderna vaccine between Jan. 2 and Jan. 7 will also be scheduled starting Monday, the county said. An automated message will be sent to those vaccine recipients to confirm drive-thru appointments at Tom Bennett Park on Feb. 1 or Feb. 2.
Both vaccines require a second injection, but the window between shots varies. The Moderna version of the vaccine requires two shots within approximately 28 days of one another, while the Pfizer BioNTech variant has a 21-day time frame.
As of Monday, about 21,000 Manatee residents have received a vaccine. Nearly 10,000 shots have been administered by the Department of Health and the county’s Public Safety Department. The rest have been administered by local hospitals and long-term care facilities.
For more information, visit www.MyManatee.org/vaccine.
