COVID-19 vaccinations underway at the Manatee County jail
For the first time since COVID-19 vaccines became available, inmates at the Manatee County jail are being vaccinated.
As of Wednesday afternoon, there had been 152 inmates who had been vaccinated against the coronavirus, according to Manatee County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Randy Warren. Inmates are being given the Moderna vaccine by staff with Naphcare, which is contracted by the sheriff’s office to provide care at the jail.
There were 252 inmates at the jail who requested a vaccine when surveyed on April 13, out of a total of 1,047 inmates.
Every two weekdays, the jail is getting a new supply of vaccines. With between 30 to 50 doses of the Moderna vaccine in each shipment, jail staff anticipate being able to vaccinate the initial 252 inmates who requested the vaccine by next week.
“Staff are continuing to ask inmates daily if they want to receive a vaccine,” Warren said. “So far only a handful have changed their mind.”
Inmates’ vaccination cards will be held with other personal property and given to them when they are released from custody.
With the Moderna vaccine requiring a second dose to be provided four to six weeks later, inmates who are released before they get their second shot will be provided information on how they can make arrangements with the Florida Department of Health — Manatee to get that shot.
“No inmates will be delayed from release because they are waiting for a second dose, nor will they need to come back to the jail to receive it,” Warren said.
The sheriff’s office said it has had 59 inmates and 87 jail employees test positive for the coronavirus since the start of the pandemic.
Statistics released by the Florida Department of Health have vastly under-reported the total number of correctional cases in Manatee County, reporting only 71 such cases since the start of the pandemic, according to a report released Thursday.
The coronavirus continues to spread in the community with 128 new infections reported Thursday. A total of 661 Manatee County residents have died from COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic.
