State has new COVID vaccine waiting list. It won’t help Manatee residents get their shots
Manatee County residents wanting to be vaccinated against COVID-19 still need sign up with the county’s vaccine standby pool because the county won’t be using Florida’s new online and phone preregistration system.
On Friday, the new statewide system was announced by the state health and emergency management departments.
The new system allows people to “save their place in line” by pre-registering so they can be notified when appointments become available at state-run vaccine sites. Currently, those who are 65 years old and older, residents or staff at long-term care facilities, frontline health care workers or those with medical conditions that doctors have deemed make them vulnerable can join the line.
But not every county will be using the system.
In Manatee County, residents will still need to be registered with the county’s standby vaccine pool. As vaccines become available, that system randomly selects people to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. Manatee County residents can register at: vax.mymanatee.org.
Residents can also call 311 and a county employee will assist in registering them.
When appointments become available, Manatee County’s system automatically texta any phone number recognized as a cell phone with an appointment date and time. That resident will need to respond in a text with “1” in order to confirm the appointment. Other phone numbers will get an automated phone call with the appointment information and require the person to dial ‘1” to confirm.
Anyone who does not confirm their appointment will later be contacted by staff at 311.
