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Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (right) announced divergent vaccination plans on Tuesday, saying seniors in the Sunshine State would be the next to receive initial doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. The state has already vaccinated health workers and residents of long-term care facilities.
But this next step breaks with the protocol recommended by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which states that in addition to those 75 and over, essential workers should receive the following doses. This includes postal workers, first responders, grocery store workers, teachers and others.
“In Florida, we have to put our parents and grandparents first and that’s what we’re going to do,” DeSantis told reporters. “And we are going to work like hell to be able to provide all the vaccines to the elderly who want them.”
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“We are not going to put healthy young workers ahead of our vulnerable elderly population,” he added.
A group of seniors from The Villages, a popular retirement community in Sumter County, were vaccinated during the governor’s press conference.
“These are probably the first members of the community who are seniors to be vaccinated, maybe anywhere in the country but definitely in Florida,” DeSantis said. “It’s kind of a preview of what we’re going to see a lot of hope for over the next few weeks and months.”
People over the age of 70 should be given priority, but DeSantis did not offer a solid timeline along which vaccines would be rolled out. He said more concrete plans would be released soon.
The CDC’s plans highlight that after healthcare workers and long-term care residents, people over the age of 65 and frontline worker groups are next to receive the vaccine. People with pre-existing health conditions aged 16 to 64 are also included in the second level of vaccinated.
About 4.4 million Florida residents are over 65 and over 3 million are over 70, DeSantis said. The state has received several hundred thousand doses of Pfizer and Moderna vaccines – which are given with two injections per person.
“I think once we offer it to the elderly – and especially if we get Johnson & Johnson approval which is a dose – I think you will be able to offer it widely and I think some of the key areas, whether it’s law enforcement, fire, whether it’s teachers, I think they will have access to it, ”DeSantis said.
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