Governor DeSantis prioritizes early vaccines for anyone 65 or older

PENSACOLA, Fla. – A day after violating the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommendations on the priority of COVID-19 vaccination, announcing that people age 70 and older will be given priority over key workers, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has reduced the age again target Wednesday – up to 65.

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 “essential”. I don’t think that makes sense, “DeSantis said at Ascac Sacred Heart Hospital.

DeSantis said he said a registration procedure for the general public to get vaccines would be announced soon and that the shots could be available as early as Monday next week.

“Don’t rush to your local hospital or health department,” DeSantis said, adding that while vaccines will soon be designated for the elderly soon, “there will be a relatively limited supply.”

Executive Order 20-315, which DeSantis signed on Wednesday, outlines priorities for the first phase of vaccine administration as:

• Residents and staff of long-term care units
• People over the age of 65
• Medical staff with direct contact with the patient

The order says hospital providers can also vaccinate anyone they believe is extremely vulnerable to COVID-19.

The next priority when more vaccines arrive would be law enforcement, firefighters and teachers, DeSantis said.

About 4.4 million people in Florida are over 65 and over 3 million are over 70, DeSantis said. According to the American Associated for Retired Persons, more than 70% of deaths caused by COVID nationwide were people over the age of 65.

DeSantis’ move was applauded by the Florida Hospital Association.

“They present the highest risk of COVID-19. They are certainly the ones most at risk of being hospitalized, ”said Mary Mathew, FHA President.

With more than double hospitalizations in September, Mayhew hopes that targeting the elderly will provide open beds for both COVID and non-COVID patients.

“We know cancer, heart attacks – it’s not gone, and we need to make sure there is capacity in the system to support those needs,” Mayhew said.

The DeSantis plan is a break from the recommendations of the CDC, which has placed vaccinations of healthy people under the age of 75 in phase II.

After health care workers and long-term unit residents, the following groups recommended for vaccine priority are the first responders, USPS employees, grocery store workers, and teachers. The CDC then recommends people between the ages of 65 and 74, people between the ages of 16 and 64, with high-risk medical conditions, along with other key workers, including food service workers, construction workers, bank tellers, IT and communications, public safety and the media.

But it’s up to the states to decide who actually gets the vaccine.

A group of seniors from The Villages was vaccinated on Wednesday during the DeSantis press conference at UF Health on Wednesday.

“These are probably the first members of the community who are elderly citizens to be vaccinated, maybe anywhere in the country, but certainly in Florida,” DeSantis said of the group. “This is a kind of preview of what we will see a lot of hope in the coming weeks and months.”

Previously, Florida focused on administering vaccines to health care workers and those living and working in long-term care facilities. Last week, Florida received 179,400 doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, which was used for these groups.

“I think once we offer it to seniors – and especially if we get Johnson & Johnson approval, which is a single dose – I think you’ll be able to offer it on a large scale, and I think some of the key areas, whether it’s law enforcement, dismissal, whether they are teachers, I think they will have access, “said DeSantis.

As of Wednesday morning, 68,133 people in the state had received a first dose of vaccine, according to the Florida Department of Health.

DeSantis said this week that the state has received 127,000 additional doses of Pfizer vaccine, and by the end of Tuesday, the state should have 367,000 doses of Moderna vaccine.

DeSantis was asked on Wednesday if he would receive the vaccine like other politicians in the country.

“We are setting criteria and I will follow the criteria we have set,” he said. “It doesn’t make sense for someone who is 42 years old to jump in front of someone who is 70 years old … If there’s another dose here at Pensacola for this week, I’d like to go to an old man, I don’t want him to go to me.”

Florida Senator Marco Rubio was criticized this week for receiving the vaccine in front of the general public and front-line workers. Rubio is among dozens of members of Congress who have had the vaccine so far. Some said they did it to inspire confidence in the vaccine.