PENSACOLA, Florida – In just a few days, Floridians over the age of 65 can receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
Speaking at Ascension Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola on Wednesday, Gov. Ron DeSantis said he is signing an executive order that will allow people 65 and older to be vaccinated as a “first priority” once health care workers and residents and staff at long-term care facilities receive the vaccine.
“The state of Florida prioritizes our COVID-19 vaccine for the elderly,” DeSantis said. “They will have priority over ordinary workers under the age of 65.”
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Florians 65 and older can still receive COVID-19 vaccine, says Governor Ron DeSantis
Announcing this executive order, DeSantis violates the recommendations of an advisory committee of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which recently stated that essential workers and people over the age of 75 should continue to receive the vaccine.
DeSantis argued that vaccinating the most vulnerable population over the age of 65 and older will reduce COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths.
“It doesn’t make sense for someone who is 42 years old to jump in front of a 70-year-old person,” DeSantis said. “The problem is that people who are 73, 74 years old would be behind the line for a 21-year-old worker, who is considered a quote,. I don’t think that makes sense.”
DeSantis said that according to its executive order, once a hospital completes vaccination of all doctors, nurses and front-line health workers, they can start administering the COVID-19 vaccine to people in the general public who are 65 years old. and over.
In addition, the governor said that the county health departments are now receiving shipments of vaccine and will start administering it to people aged 65 and over even months.
“We want to work to pass this on to our elderly population,” DeSantis said. “We believe that it is very, very important to reduce mortality, to reduce the number of people who need to be hospitalized.”
Hundreds of thousands of doses of COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna have arrived in Florida since last week, and DeSantis said he expects hundreds of thousands more doses to arrive each week for the “foreseeable future.”
“A lot of great things are happening. A lot of hope, a lot of optimism,” DeSantis said. “We are going where the risk is greatest and where we believe the impact will be most important.”
After the population is 65 and older, DeSantis said the next phase of Florida COVID-19 vaccinations could include law enforcement officers, firefighters, teachers and utility workers.
“Then I think you have the opportunity for a wide audience to do that,” DeSantis said.