As the state eligibility requirements continue to expand, the university is giving COVID-19 vaccines to faculty and staff on a first-come, first-serve basis due to limited supplies.

Starting Monday, all adults age 40 and older with a state-issued ID were eligible to receive the two-dose COVID-19 vaccine series. Eligible individuals must fill out a survey so USF Health can evaluate the number of people interested as well as those still in need of getting the COVID-19 vaccine.

Once the survey is submitted, USF Health will reach out to eligible individuals to schedule their appointments. Those who completed the survey previously sent out in January must also complete the most recently sent survey in order to be included in the pool of individuals considered by USF Health for vaccinations.

“At this time we are prioritizing our faculty and staff based on the governor’s eligibility, as the vaccine is still in short supply and our ability to obtain the vaccine varies from week to week. We are managing appointments in the order in which responses are received,” a universitywide email sent Monday afternoon said.

A limited supply of the vaccine will be offered to eligible faculty and staff through USF Health. The vaccine will be given at the USF Health Morsani Center for Advanced Health Care, located at 13330 Laurel Drive. Only individuals with appointments will receive their shot.

“Our challenge has been and remains getting supplies of the vaccine to administer. We never know from week to week how many doses we will get, if we get any,” COVID-19 Task Force Chair Donna Petersen said.

“We’ve been offering our limited supplies, within the governor’s eligibility requirements, to those people who need it most and directing others to local sites.”

Additional locations throughout USF may become available at a later time, according to the university’s email.

Due to limited supply, the university is encouraging individuals to sign up to receive the vaccine at other locations across the county, especially as the eligibility requirements are extended to anyone 18 and older starting April 5.

“While USF has received limited quantities of this vaccine over the past few months for selected age groups, it is unclear when USF might receive enough vaccines to provide widespread vaccination to all our students,” the university said in another universitywide email sent Monday afternoon.

“It is recommended that you utilize community resources such as pharmacies, including CVS, Publix and Walgreens, health department sites, Federally Qualified Health Centers (Tampa Family Health Centers) and the FEMA vaccine administration site located in Hillsborough County until the university receives a larger supply of vaccine.”