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Local Vaccine Demand Declining, Escambia Lagging Behind State Average
May 9, 2021
Escambia County’s health director says the demand for COVID-19 vaccine is decreasing, despite ample availability.
There have been 99,870 people that have received at least one dose in Escambia County as of May 7. That is 37% of the county population over age 16; the state average is 49%.
“We are below the state average for individuals vaccinated that are eligible,” said Florida Department of Health in Escambia County Administrator Marie Mott. “That’s one of the things we would like to see change.”
In March, Mott said a local vaccination target of 175,000 by May was was discussed among vaccine community partners.
“The supply has opened up, but it appears the demand is being maybe not as robust as it was in January, February,” she said.
Mott told the Escambia County Commission that the vaccine is readily available from multiple providers, hospitals, private medical practices and a number of commercial pharmacies. There have also been numerous vaccination clinics in several communities, including the pictured clinic last week at the Walnut Hill Community Center where 28 people received the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine.
“It’s pretty widely available. I think it’s getting people to decide to go ahead and go get it, or the time is right to go get it.”
“Our health care providers have done an excellent job of securing supply, but the demand has waned,” Commission Chairman Robert Bender said. He said Escambia County is 22nd in the state in terms of population, but about 26th or 27th in the number of people vaccinated.
“We want our recovery to continue. We feel the best way to do that is through our community getting vaccinated,” Bender added.
Pictured top: A clinic last week at the Walnut Hill Community Center where 28 people received the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine. Pictured inset: Florida Department of Health in Escambia County Administrator Marie Mott addresses the Escambia County Commission Thursday. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Comments
31 Responses to “Local Vaccine Demand Declining, Escambia Lagging Behind State Average”
i got the shot. age was the main consern. had i been a teen or young person, i would have passed on it. i don’t know of anyone that took the shot passing away from covid. i do know of people that did die from not taking it.
To be honest, I’d rather catch the virus and have natural antibodies develop than receive a “vaccine” that doesn’t even protect one from acquiring it in the first place. Clinical trails are still open on this & the FDA has not approved it. I personally am not an anti-VAX-er, but there’s time for me to wait on this. I am not a fan of being part of the scientific method.
regarding:
“The rest of us will live our lives as we did two years ago, unafraid of the flu bug.”
It would be easier to think a person wasn’t clueless if he understood covid-19 is not the flu.
David for better, brighter people
@Bob then get the vaccine, Save yourself. Be the pied piper that leads the scared to their safety. The rest of us will live our lives as we did two years ago, unafraid of the flu bug.
@ Bob: ” You’re right. You can refuse the vaccine. You can continue going out in public. You can lie to people and tell them that you have been inoculated. You can also sell drugs to children, drive drunk, and fire a handgun in the air.”
This is just my opinion, but I think people who choose not to get the vaccine are not going to lie about it and say they did. But again, that’s just my opinion.
I started taking a flu vaccine about 4 years ago, after a nasty bout with the flu the previous year. That is a fact. It’s also a fact that I’m not going to take the COVID vaccine. It’s further a fact that I have never sold nor given drugs to children. I’ve never driven a car while drunk (or even been drunk in public) and have never fired a gun into the air. There’s no parallel comparison to be made between doing those things and choosing not to take a vaccine.
Jkf, are you for real?
One political party has been insisting since the start of the pandemic that Covid would go away on its own, that we don’t need to wear masks or socially distance, that listening to scientists is for wimps, and that we have a God given right to sneeze on frontline workers every chance we get.
I agree that the Covid should not have been politicized. We should all be doing our part to help protect our neighbors, regardless of their political affiliation.
Reading a lot of comments about autism and such yet I’ve not seen one person say they are afraid of it. The people refusing the vaccine are refusing it because it’s politicised. If progressivs hadn’t ruined our economy and vivid weren’t mostly an excuse to give the democratic party totalitarian control, people would trust the vaccine. It’s democratic progressive people’s fault people won’t take it.
That us 37%
Do your own research and make an informed decision. I personally believe taking the shot is a bad idea. There is a lot going on with this gene therapy shot and you have to figure out who/what you trust the most.
@JTV
Great questions!
Why would one get vaccinated when they have already had the virus?
No one is sure how long the antibodies against Covid-19 last. With past zoonotic viruses, the antibodies usually last anywhere from a few months to several years. On top of that, it is possible (though rare) to contract Covid-19 again, even if you already had it before and still have the antibodies from your last infection.
Why would one get vaccinated when they are not in a moderate/high danger?
To lower their chances of having a reaction if they do contract Covid-19, to reduce their transmission rate, and to help achieve herd immunity.
Why would one get vaccinated when less than 1% die from having it?
Well, the mortality rate in Florida is actually closer to 1.9%, but w/e.
1% of the population of Escambia county is 3,100 people.
I don’t want 3,100+ of my neighbors to die from a preventable disease.
Those who stay healthy and have strong immune systems might prefer getting the virus to taking a new vaccine. Of course we would agree to recovering at home rather than at a hospital! Forced vaccinations would be the beginning of total government control of our lives and free choice-sounds rather unAmerican to me and there are many of us who do not live in fear.
It’s tracked by your city of residence, not the location of your vaccine. So you are counted in Escambia County, Florida’s numbers.
I live in Walnut Hill, but drove into Atmore several weeks ago to get vaccinated. I guess Escambia county thinks I’m unvaccinated, since I’m not counted in their numbers? How many others were vaccinated in Alabama I wonder?
Why would one get vaccinated when they have already had the virus?
Why would one get vaccinated when they are not in a moderate/high danger?
Why would one get vaccinated when less than 1% die from having it?
Go ahead, get vaccinated, Stay home, wear your mask and sanitize your life, I refuse to live in fear.
Can we get an equally firm commitment from the people refusing the vaccine that if they get Covid-19, they’ll also refuse to go to the hospital if they get seriously sick from it?
Because I never see that commitment from people refusing the vaccine.
If you don’t want to take a simple step to ensure your health, then you shouldn’t expect anyone else to do a bunch of very complicated steps to keep you alive if you get a disease that you’ve deliberately chosen to leave yourself exposed to..
I’m fine with you refusing the vaccine if you’ll be fine with dying at home in the case of serious Covid-19 illnesses.
@At Bob
Before the vaccine, herd immunity was reached by infecting everyone and hoping grandma doesn’t die. No one is against herd immunity, but it should be done safely through vaccination instead of just culling 3% of the population and calling it a day.
You’re right. You can refuse the vaccine. You can continue going out in public. You can lie to people and tell them that you have been inoculated. You can also sell drugs to children, drive drunk, and fire a handgun in the air.
Reading some of these comments really makes me wonder who raised some of yall and where they went wrong.
Doesn’t say much for the overall populous of this county. I as 37% of us have, received both doses months ago…What are the other 63% waiting for? Do it for others (as u very well may be a carrier) if not for yourself. Knowing and watching someone suffer and die from this pandemic is by far not an experience in life you want to remember. No excuses, science has proven that to be. Good Luck to all, stay safe and stay well
Think about how stupid the average person is and then realize that half of them are stupider than that. This virus is going to be around for a while because of the dumb ones.
Hey, Bob. Back when there was no vaccine, those of us talking about herd immunity were shouted down and told that if we didn’t incarcerate ourselves at home, we were literally murderers. Now y’all are talking about herd immunity all of a sudden.
Shut it. Keep your vaccine. It’s my right to refuse it, and no, I don’t have to lock myself away. I’m healthy. It’s you who are sick, you who suffered so well under idiotic quarantines and mask mandates. You virtue signaling, finger pointing harpies.
Go lock yourself away. I’ll continue living my life how I choose, and you can just get over it, bud.
It is MY RIGHT TO REFUSE IT! Just like it’s your right to stand in line and take it! Quit Pushing who knows what they what to do! It’s Called FREE WILL! So that’s a Big Fat No for Me on this So Called (bioweapon) Vaccine! It is UNCONSTITUTIONAL and I choose My Rights & Freedom as Long as I Can!
*sigh*
Vaccine don’t cause autism.
They don’t have microchips in them.
All three of the Covid vaccines that are readily available have been extensively tested.
The sooner we can achieve herd immunity, the better our chances of stopping the spread of COVID-19 before new strains can develop and spread.
Get the vaccine. If you refuse to, at least have the decency to stay home and help the rest of us control the pandemic that way.
The coronavirus has many different strains that may not be stopped by the vaccines available. The CDC says you may need a booster eventually.
If you want the economy of this country to recover – get vaccinated. It is your patriotic duty. You got vaccinated for polio and made it through. Don’t be swayed by nonsense. There are no microchips. You will not die in three years. It is safe. Donald Trump is vaccinated…
Perhaps there are a higher number of educated people in Escambia County that do not want to be lab rats.
Shocking!
I am a 43 year old who has had both Pfizer vaccinations. I am feeling fine and having no side effects. I would encourage others to go ahead and get vaccinated and slow the spread of covid in our community!
Hmm, 2 out of every 3 people I meet aren’t vaccinated, so I have to keep wearing a mask, sanitizing, washing my hands, and worrying. And before anyone tells me to stay at home, I have a right to live a life, too.
When I was young, people appreciated how vaccines saved lives from polio and rubella. Then the debunked myth started that they cause autism and that baseless fear continues.
Three relatives of mine have caught Covid, one in a nursing home and two at work. It was no picnic for them and one died. We’ll have to keep dealing with this epidemic until people get smart and get vaccinated.
I ain’t gettin it, and you cant make me. I dont care what you say
Polio, measles, rubella, and smallpox have been eliminated by vaccines. It is unamerican to refuse to be vaccinated against this pandemic.
Not all of us want an experiment swimming around inside our bodies. Hard pass.
The Scamdemic is strong in Florida. Not as much here.