BRADENTON – More than 4,000 Manatee County residents have already received the COVID-19 vaccine. Still, with more vaccine doses announced to be arriving soon – residents attempting to register are met with more frustration than relief.
“We are going through Emergency Management and the Department of Health in Tallahassee, letting them know that we are ready for additional doses,” said Manatee County Health Officer Dr. Jennifer Bencie.
As the number of coronavirus cases in the country continue to rise, the Department of Health in Manatee County announced on Monday plans to receive an additional 1,200 doses of the Moderna vaccine.
But limited supply and high demand is making it a challenge for those that qualify to secure a coronavirus vaccine appointment in the county.
“I know that the demands especially 65 and over to get vaccinated is very high we understand that, and we’re working as fast as we can, but the supply is just not there yet,” said Manatee County Public Safety Director Jacob Saur.
But many trying to secure their appointment found the counties and Eventbrite websites to crash due to high volume of people wanting to register.
Registration opened at 2 p.m. Monday, and by 3:15 p.m. all 1,200 vaccination appointments were filled. However, a majority of seniors reported on social media sites those appointments “sold out” in under 10 minutes.
“We just ask that the public really continue to have patience and work with us,” said Saur.
Manatee County DOH is reporting a total of 4,580 residents have been vaccinated, but many of those doses were administered to hospital and nursing home workers and residents.
And earlier in the day Gov. Ron DeSantis announced he’s directing the Division of Emergency Management to work with the Florida Department of Health to turn some COVID testing sites into vaccine sites.
“We need to add additional layers to the vaccination strategy,” said Saur. “We believe we’ll have enough doses to be able to do that.”
For now Manatee County Public Safety Director Jacob Saur says currently workers are able to distribute 1,000 doses a day if the supply becomes more regular, and are working to ramp up to 2,000 a day.
Both Sarasota and Manatee county Department of Health’s are reporting they have completely allocated their initial supply of the Moderna vaccine doses. Health officials say you can visit mymanatee.org to receive updates about when new vaccinations opportunities will become available.
