Vaccine eligibility is open to Floridians over 60 years of age

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Florida opened COVID-19 vaccinations on Monday for anyone 60 years of age and older. While the drop in age from 65 was expected to bring a new wave of people to state and federal sites and cause more photo entries at retail pharmacies, vaccination lines continued to be short.

At the vaccination site run by the Federal Emergency Management Agency at Gateway Mall, many people told News4Jax on Monday that they were eager to get vaccinated and were surprised to see such a short line.

Arvia Gilmore said she was shocked that there was no waiting and a lot of shots to be bypassed when she arrived at the vaccination site.

“Let people shoot,” Gilmore said.

News4Jax also checked the state-administered vaccination site at Regency Square Mall on Monday and found that the line was short and no appointments were required.

The latest statistics from the Florida Department of Health show that statewide, 4,252,250 people received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine. A total of 2,279,646 completed their shooting regiment, whether it was the Johnson & Johnson single-dose vaccine or the Pfizer or Moderna two-dose options.

Ad

Florida has more than 21.4 million residents, including 17.7 million residents aged 16 and over and would be eligible for at least one of the vaccination options if there were no age restrictions imposed by the state.

Extended age criteria come as Florida reported another 99 coronavirus-related deaths on Monday, for a total of 32,959. The state also reported 2,826 additional cases of COVID-19 to bring the total to 1,979,634.

The reduction in age to 60 years to be vaccinated adds to the further vaccination of health workers, school staff, law enforcement and firefighters over the age of 50, people of any age with a doctor’s certificate certifying the fact that they are extremely vulnerable to COVID-19, and the caregivers of any person eligible for the vaccine.

Ad

David Cox, who was shot at the vaccination site at Gateway Mall, said it was time to further lower the age requirement.

“I think I should,” Cox said. “People die because you’re just ignorant and blame ‘I can’t get there.'”

Larry Jones, 64, said he knows the concerns many African Americans have about vaccination. But he said he should not wait and believes the Gateway Mall site should now be open to all age groups.

“I think the faster it goes down, the more people will get vaccinated,” Jones told News4Jax after he was vaccinated.

DeSantis said last week that after the state made people over 60 eligible for the vaccine, it would soon drop to 55 and then likely open up to the rest of the population.

Ad

RELATED: Where to get a COVID-19 vaccine in Northeast Florida

In addition to the large vaccination sites at Gateway Mall and Regency Square Mall, two smaller federal vaccination sites opened Sunday at the Carver Center in Jacksonville Beach and the Oceanway Center in Jacksonville’s Northside.

The Gateway Mall website is expected to open by May 3rd. Workers hope it will become more crowded as age restrictions are further reduced.

Vaccination schedules are also available at most Publix and Walmart pharmacies and at some Winn-Dixie, CVS and Walmart stores. Go to myvaccine.fl.gov to find a site nearby.

Ad