Expanding the Eligibility Priority Groups 

SARASOTA – The Department of Health in Sarasota County (DOH) will expand vaccination registration eligibility on Monday, March 15, for those who are over the age of 60, in accordance with the governor’s Executive Order. The registration link will go live on Monday.

As registration eligibility priority groups expand, the DOH will continue to schedule vaccination appointments in numerical order based on when accounts are created, and complete administering vaccine to individuals who remain in the over 65 and frontline healthcare worker priority group.

 “We started with 65 and above because they are the most vulnerable and here in Sarasota County, 37 percent of our population is above that age group. We are committed to working through that population to ensure those who want to receive the vaccine are able to get it before we expand other groups,” said DOH Health Officer Chuck Henry. “Over 115,00 individuals in the over 65 and frontline healthcare works priority group have been vaccinated in Sarasota County, and there are approximately 65,000 community members remaining.”

Once those remaining eligible individuals in priority group 1A receive a first-dose appointment, DOH will transition to scheduling appointments for those 60 and older, and frontline healthcare workers in numerical order of registration/account number from the enhanced platform.

Beginning at 2 p.m. Friday, March 12, individuals will no longer be able to create or change an account through the current registration system that launched Jan. 20. This will allow for the transition to the updated sign up to begin without causing those eligible individuals already in the system to lose their place in queue. This will require individuals over 65 and healthcare workers who haven’t registered yet to wait until Monday to sign up when the enhanced system is launched.

Ineligible individuals who created an account in the current system, will also need to sign up in the enhanced system on Monday. Their previous number from their ineligible account will not follow them to the new sign up to ensure fairness throughout the registration process.

Beginning Monday, all individuals who are over the age of 18 will be able to register through the updated system. Only individuals who meet the current state guidelines as of March 15 (individuals who are over 60 and frontline healthcare workers, school staff, LEO) will receive an account number and are eligible for an appointment notification.

As state guidelines continue to expand, numbers will be assigned to accounts that meet eligibility guidelines by in order of registration. It may take up to a few days for account numbers to populate into newly registered accounts. DOH will continue to schedule appointments by numerical order, based on account creation timestamps and sequential priority groups.

REGISTRATION SYSTEM ENHANCEMENTS: The following adjustments have been implemented into the enhanced registration system to make the process even more efficient.

• SINGLE-PERSON SIGN UP: Accounts will be for one person only. This adjustment will aid in the scheduling process, especially for second-dose appointments. Single-person sign-ups also allow for names to be added to appointment confirmation notices and assist with the check-in process at the clinic. 
• DATE FIELDS: Individuals will enter required dates using a calendar format. This conversion will ensure proper and consistent formatting throughout all the accounts.
• EXPANDED ACCOUNT INFORMATION: Account registration will have several new fields to allow for eligibility grouping and scheduling. This data is only collected and entered into FL Shots.

Individuals with questions or needing assistance with account registration may call the Vaccine Registration call center at 941-861-VAXS (8297), 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, visit the Information and Registration Station inside Sarasota Square Mall, 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. during clinic operations, or through social media direct message @SRQCountyGov. Individuals needing account or registration assistance should refrain from contacting the Everbridge call center.

For additional information visit SarasotaHealth.org or scgov.net.