Pasco County says improvements coming to vaccination process

NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla. - Officials in Pasco County say they will soon announce a new web site and phone line where residents can make an appointment to get a COVID-19 vaccination.

Mike Napier, director of Florida Health Department - Pasco County, said the county will also open an additional drive-through vaccination site at St. Leo University.

Many residents complained that the current website is frustrating and Pasco is not receiving enough of the vaccine.

LINK: COVID-19 vaccine distribution information in Tampa Bay area counties

"We went from Operation Warp Speed to Operation Snail’s Pace," says Beverly Ledbetter, a Pasco County senior citizen who believes some large counties are getting more than their fair share of the vaccine.

Napier says the new web site and phone number will be unveiled once the county receives its vaccination doses for the week. He says county commissioners had to call Tallahassee Monday morning to ensure that a new supply is on the way.

"This morning we were notified that we were getting a thousand doses," says Napier. "Through the weekend Pasco County was told we were getting no doses for this coming week."

To date, Pasco county has received 4,900 doses of the vaccine. The county has around 130,000 residents 65 and older.

Napier says he expects the St. Leo vaccination site could begin operating Thursday. He says 300 people on a waiting list from last week will be first on the list for the new 1,000 doses.