Local vaccination level hits 30%; teens eligible

Posted on May 21, 2021

More than 30% of those eligible to receive one of the three COVID-19 vaccines available in Taylor County have done so, including a handful of young teenagers.

The age range to receive the vaccine recently grew after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) expanded the emergency use authorization for the Pfizer vaccine to youth ages 12-15. The vaccine had already been approved for teens ages 16-17, as well as adults.

Both the Moderna vaccines and the Johnson & Johnson vaccines are only approved for those 18 and older.

Through Wednesday, May 19, three people ages 12 to 14 had received their first dose of the Pfizer vaccine.

To date, just 139 people ages 14-24 in Taylor County have received at least one dose of one of the vaccine, including 85 who have completed their vaccine series.

Across all age groups, 6,013 people have received at least one dose, and 4,790 have completed their series.

On Tuesday, May 18, the Taylor County Commission listened to an update on the local COVID-19 situation, including vaccinations, from Operations Manager Martine Young and Interim Director Tonya Hobby with the Florida Department of Health in Taylor County (DOH-Taylor).

“We are still vaccinating, not only at the local Health Department, but I believe just about every pharmacy in Taylor County is vaccinating, including the one down in Steinhatchee,” Young said.

“Types of vaccinations vary,” she said. “We are currently offering Moderna at the health department. The FDA did recently approve the Pfizer for children 12 through 17. That is the only one approved for those ages.

“So, we have been referring those to CVS and Walgreens, because we don’t have Pfizer in-house. It’s a storage issue for us. They need cold storage, which we don’t have access to,” she said.

“Right now, about 30% of the population that is eligible to get the vaccine has received the vaccine,” Young said. “That’s those 12 and up.

“Our cases are doing a bit of a wave right now,” she said Tuesday. “Knock on wood, we have had no cases for the past two days. That’s a good sign.”

“We are trying to do our best to promote the vaccine for our youth, because that’s where we’re seeing the most cases, in our younger population,” Hobby said.

“It’s hard to keep them from congregating together.”

According to the Florida Department of Health, there have been eight COVID-19 cases reported in the past week, and 13 the previous week.

In the three-day period between Saturday, May 15, and Monday, 17, there were no cases reported, and just one case on Tuesday, May 18, the latest day for which information was available as of presstime.

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