How many Manatee County school employees got a COVID-19 vaccine? The number is growing

The number of employees vaccinated against COVID-19 is growing in the School District of Manatee County, a hopeful trend that is likely to continue as Florida widens the pool of residents eligible to get shots.

As of Monday afternoon, approximately 40 percent of district employees had received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, according to district spokesman Mike Barber.

About 200 employees ages 65 and up are fully vaccinated after the district hosted an event in partnership with MCR Health in February. State-supported vaccine sites are currently following the governor’s order, which includes anyone 50 and older, while federal sites and local pharmacies are open to all school staff, regardless of age.

Approximately 300 other employees received the single-dose Johnson and Johnson vaccine at an event organized by the Florida Division of Emergency Management in early March.

The largest group of employees — which includes about 2,000 people — is now awaiting the second dose after attending recent events by the district and MCR Health. The most recent event, hosted at Palmetto High School last week, was open to school employees of all ages since the vaccines were federally provided.

“They’ll start signing up probably by the end of the week for their second vaccinations,” Barber said on Monday.

In total, approximately 2,500 out of 6,100 district employees have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. They were teachers, bus drivers, custodians and other vital employees who continue to work during the pandemic school year.

And while that number was surely higher in reality, the district was unsure how many employees received a dose through the county standby pool, the federal vaccine site in Tampa or the local pharmacies that take part in a federal vaccine program.

Scott Hopes, a school board member and epidemiologist, recently suggested an update to the survey that district employees answer each morning. In addition to asking about symptoms and COVID-19 exposures, the district should ask employees whether they received a vaccine, he said.

District leaders were still mulling over that idea on Monday afternoon, Barber said, citing concerns about the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), a federal law that protects individuals’ private medical data.

In response, Hopes said the district could ask employees to volunteer that information without infringing on HIPAA, especially if their personal details were guarded from public release — just like any other health information the district already collects.

Hopes said he wanted to know the true percentage of district employees who were immunized, regardless of where they went for a COVID-19 vaccine.

“I’m hoping that we’re up to around 60 percent,” he continued. “I know a number of people have gone up to Tampa, to the federal vaccine site.”

Coverage was expected to grow even further after Gov. Ron DeSantis said he would likely make all adults eligible for a shot by May 1. Anticipating the change, Manatee and Sarasota counties began pre-registering anyone 18 or older.

To sign up for Manatee’s vaccination standby pool, visit vax.mymanatee.org or call 311.

This story was originally published March 22, 2021 at 4:10 PM.