More Than 90,000 People Vaccinated In Sarasota County

SARASOTA COUNTY, FL — Despite early frustrations with the coronavirus vaccine distribution in Sarasota County — and across the state — things are looking up with more pop-up events planned, weekly vaccine distribution at the Sarasota Square Mall and more than 90,000 people vaccinated in the county.

As of Wednesday morning, 90,168 people have received at least the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in Sarasota County, according to an email from Brianne Grant, the county's media relations officer.

Those eligible for the vaccine in Florida from the launch of distribution at the end of December through Monday included seniors 65 and older, frontline health care workers, long-term care facility residents and staff, and those vulnerable to the virus.

Around 37 percent of the county’s population is 65 and older, making them eligible for the shot, Chuck Henry, health officer with the Department of Health in Sarasota County, said during a December news conference. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there are 433,742 total residents in the county.

Gov. Ron DeSantis signed an executive order Monday expanding this eligibility to include all K-12 school personnel, police officers and firefighters in the state who are 50 and older.

When the vaccine initially rolled out, the DOH in Sarasota County was overwhelmed by requests for the vaccine and residents were frustrated as appointments filled quickly.

Since then, the county has launched a more efficient registration system, which pre-registers people and creates a vaccine queue, and established a regular distribution site at the Sarasota Square Mall, which hosts vaccine clinics several days a week. The state has also intervened with occasional large-scale pop-up events.

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On Saturday and Sunday, around 4,000 first doses of the Moderna brand vaccine were given to seniors at a pop-up clinic at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall.

“Our vaccine clinic was the largest known community volunteer driven vaccine clinic in the area. We’re grateful to the many healthcare professionals who administered thousands of first dose vaccine over the weekend and to the state and Department of Health-Sarasota for facilitating the availability of the vaccine and helping to coordinate the clinic," the city of Sarasota shared to its Facebook page Monday.

The clinic drew from the county's existing vaccine registration system, the city said.

A state-run pop-up vaccination clinic was also held at the Venice Municipal Airport Festival Grounds Saturday and Sunday. Seniors received the Pfizer vaccine at this clinic.

A point-of-distribution (POD) vaccination clinic targeting the county’s minority communities was held at Light of the World International Church in Sarasota Sunday. At this event, 500 doses were given, Trevor D. Harvey, president of the NAACP's Sarasota County Branch, said. The first event of this type for the area’s Black and Hispanic communities was hosted the previous weekend at World International Church in Newtown.

Meanwhile, at Sarasota Square Mall, the DOH continues to operate appointment-only first-dose and second-dose vaccine clinics this week.