Gov. DeSantis praises Manatee County’s vaccine rollout

BRADENTON, Fla. (WFLA) – Gov. Ron DeSantis made a stop in Manatee County Thursday morning. During a news conference at the county’s drive-thru COVID-19 vaccination site, the governor praised Manatee County officials for their efforts in rolling out vaccines to seniors across the area.

“We are happy with what they are doing. We are glad we’ve provided them with vaccine. I have told my folks to make sure we continue sending vaccine to this area and this vaccine site because they are making good use of it,” Gov. DeSantis said.

In the last week, Director of Public Safety Jake Saur tells 8 On Your Side 6,000 people have been vaccinated at the Bennett Park drive-thru site. The county administered its last 700 doses Thursday.

Saur says the site is capable of inoculating 1,000 people a day but the challenge right now is getting the supply to meet the demand.

“We have asked for 6,000 (doses) at a time. That way once that supply chain becomes more stable, this site can do 1,000 a day and keep running,” Saur said. “That is our immediate goal to get this site up stable running every day. We will take as much as we can get.”

As Manatee County’s vaccine process receives praise, other surrounding counties are still struggling. 8 On Your Side has heard from thousands of viewers across the Tampa Bay area who are frustrated with the process to get a COVID-19 vaccine.

A Palmetto resident we spoke with has tried to get her husband and 97-year-old father-in-law an appointment in Sarasota and Manatee counties with no luck. She describes the vaccine rollout as a whole as chaotic. She feels if the state would have rolled out a statewide plan, things would be less complicated.

“It is so frustrating,” Patty Zittel said. “I appreciate everything that they are doing and I know they are working hard and I appreciate them getting the vaccine out to people, but please try to plan together to make it more uniform. It is just difficult.”

Gov. DeSantis is expecting the next statewide shipment to be around 250,000 doses. Manatee and Sarasota counties alone have more than a quarter-million residents ages 65 and up. There is no word yet on how many of those doses will be coming to the Tampa Bay area.

Manatee County officials say they’re ready to take on more.

Following criticism of its online booking system, which crashed earlier this week, county officials decided to launch a new open-ended vaccine pool on Thursday at 10 p.m.

Seniors ages 65 and older can join the standby pool one of two ways: 

• Online: Beginning Thursday at 10 p.m., up to two people at a time can join the standby pool by filling out an online form available at vax.mymanatee.org.
• By phone: Between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 8, seniors ages 65 and older can dial the County’s 311 Call Center to ask for help joining the vaccine standby pool. 311 Call Center operators can assist from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. each weekday.

“Over time the list of names in the standby pool will grow. Whenever a new shipment of vaccines arrives, the same number of names will be pulled through randomized selection. (The) 311 reps will use those names to call pre-registered seniors and help them book an appointment,” a county news release said.

On the day of the appointment, seniors will need to bring the following items with them:

• An email receipt or unique number they receive from the 311 Call Center
• A Department of Health consent form available at www.mymanatee.org/vaccine (311 callers can assist with the form for those without internet access)
• A valid ID showing age 65 or older. 

“Seniors without internet access will now have the same ability to receive an appointment. Those with internet access can register anytime on any day,” the news release said. “Also, there will no longer be a race to book appointments online. The new registration pool is open-ended, and anyone who wants to enroll can do so online or by calling 311.”