Florida lowers COVID-19 vaccine eligibility to 60 years old
DORAL, FL – COVID-19 vaccine eligibility in Florida will be lowered from 65 to 60 years old as announced recently by Governor Ron DeSantis.
During a news conference held on Monday at the state Capitol in Tallahassee, DeSantis said starting March 15 all Florida residents of that age group will be able to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
“You’re starting to see [vaccine] demand soften a little bit,” the governor said, as reported by several media outlets.
“I would imagine the demand will be slightly lower for 60 to 64 [years old] than it was above 65, but we do anticipate the demand to be pretty robust,” DeSantis added.
This doesn’t mean people over 65 years of age won’t be able to access the vaccine as they will continue to be eligible but now more residents will be covered no matter where they get immunized.
“That will apply across the board at all of the state pods, all of the pharmacies, all of the different drive-thru sites that are being operated…If you’re 60 plus, you will be able to get sign up and be able to get the vaccine,” said DeSantis as reported by News4JAX.
The governor also mentioned COVID-19 vaccine eligibility will continue to drop in age as the number of vaccinations and supplies continues to increase.
The news comes amid other favorable news for Florida residents such as the possibility of getting another shipment of vaccines next week and an expansion of vaccine sites for both CVS and Walgreens.
“Hopefully by next week we’ll get another shipment of the Johnson & Johnson [vaccine into Florida],” he said as reported by WPTV.
DeSantis said that 2.6 million Florida seniors have had at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and anticipated the state hitting the three million mark this week.
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