Major vaccination effort underway at The Fountains at Boca Ciega Bay retirement community

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Monday morning marked the start of a major effort to vaccinate one of the Tampa Bay area’s largest retirement communities.

The state and CVS teamed up to distribute COVID-19 vaccinations for 450 retirees and staff at The Fountains at Boca Ciega Bay.  

When Jim Donarski, 89, saw the cart with his COVID-19 vaccine pushed down the halls, he thought, "It’s a step in the right direction."

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

Jim’s 89th birthday celebration was on Sunday, this was all he wanted.  

"As we get older, we begin to realize we want more people around," he told FOX 13.  

He says he has been so isolated he hasn’t put gas in his car since March. While he doesn’t make quarantine "a big deal," he says the last year has been hard.  

"If we didn’t have this virus I would be out playing golf or out on the dock drinking coffee watching the birds fly around," he said.  

This vaccine meaning hope for so many --- for this Korean War veteran and grandfather of eight -- it signifies the start of making up for lost time.