TALLAHASSEE – Florida residents age 40 and older will be eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine beginning on Monday, March 29, Gov. Ron DeSantis has announced. Those 18 and older will be eligible to receive the vaccine beginning Monday, April 5.
A press release issued Thursday afternoon by the Governor’s office encourages those who want to be vaccinated to register with the state or county they reside in.
Those aged 18 and over can enroll for the standby pool in Manatee County’s online registration system by going to vax.mymanatee.org or by calling the call center at 311.
According to the governor’s office, vaccines are also available at 150 CVS locations, 125 Walmart and Sam’s Club locations, more than 70 Winn-Dixie locations, 730 Publix pharmacies, and soon, more than 600 Walgreens pharmacies.
In his video message, DeSantis said, “Florida’s Seniors First vaccine strategy is paying off — more than 3.2 million seniors age 65 and older have received shots. We’ve been able to expand eligibility to those age 50 and above and we’ve seen additional success. Now because of this success, I am pleased to announce additional vaccine eligibility expansions.
“We have now vaccinated over 70% of the roughly 4.4 million seniors living in the state. We have also made great progress on those age 60 to 64 and those age 50 and older. And we are ready to take this step. If you look at the hospitalization and case rates for senior citizens, they have plummeted since the start of our Seniors First strategy. And we want to keep up that momentum as we expand eligibility to other age groups throughout the state of Florida. Florida continues to rank 41st in senior mortality per capita, with 40 states having higher mortality for COVID on a per capita basis than the state of Florida,” he said.
“We have made great progress and I look forward to continuing to work hard to make sure everyone in Florida who wants a shot can get a shot. No mandate, but access for all,” DeSantis said.
Manatee County vaccinations
During Tuesday’s Manatee County Commission meeting, Public Safety Director Jake Saur told the commission the county health department expects to receive and administer an average of 11,000 vaccines per week.
On Friday, the county issued a press release that stated Manatee County has begun scheduling 8,000 first dose COVID-19 vaccine appointments for next week for adults 40 and older at Tom Bennett Park and the Public Safety Center. The Public Safety Department and the Health Department in Manatee County will administer another 8,000 second-dose vaccines next week, as well.
According to the press release, as of March 25, nearly 86,058 patients have received at least a first dose of the vaccine through a Manatee County-operated vaccination site. Manatee County has contacted everyone 50 and up in their standby pool at least once and will begin vaccinating newly eligible patients 40 and over on Monday.
“Working closely with the Department of Health in Manatee County, we vaccinated those 50 and older who were registered in our standby pool very quickly,” Public Safety Director Jake Saur said in the press release. “It’s important for any adult who wants to receive a vaccination to enroll in our online registration system. There are far fewer people in the pool than one month ago and the wait to receive a call for an appointment is typically very short for someone who enrolls today.”
According to the county’s press release, among those 50-64 years old, there are fewer than 3,400 patients in the standby pool awaiting a first dose of the vaccine. There are 3,018 patients ages 40-49 in the standby pool and 3,622 who are under age 40. A total of 9,968 patients are currently in Manatee County’s standby vaccination pool. Next week the county will be attempting to contact roughly 7,000 enrolled numbers, mostly 65 and older patients, that have been unresponsive multiple times. If the county cannot contact those 7,000 numbers, they will be removed from the standby pool.
Manatee County COVID-19 vaccine appointment notifications will come from a number familiar to those already in the county’s standby pool: 941-742-4300. Those who enroll for text notifications will receive updates from 88911. Anyone enrolling in the county’s standby pool should program that number in their phones so the call does not appear as spam.
It is important to reply to the call or text as quickly as possible since appointments will go to those who respond promptly. After you select one of the options, you will receive a follow-up message by phone, text and/or email confirming your appointment date, time and location. Learn more about the process and view a brief video here
