There are more than three million Florida citizens over the age of 70 and Gov. Ron DeSantis doesn’t think they have to wait to protect themselves from COVID. He announced his plans to challenge the CDC guidelines on who should receive priority treatment in vaccinations and will inoculate older Florians ahead of “essential workers.”
“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’ll work like hell to be able to get all the vaccines to seniors who want it.”
It is difficult to argue with this reasoning.
“Essential workers” include postal workers, first aid workers, grocery store workers, teachers, and others according to the CDC. “We will not put healthy, young workers ahead of our vulnerable population,” DeSantis added.
Orlando Sentinel:
“For us in Florida, we’re making the executive order clear … it’s vaccinating people 65 and older,” Governor DeSantis told reporters during a vaccination demonstration at Ascension Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola . He added that older residents, who are at higher risk of death from COVID-19, should have priority over younger essential workers.
The order requires vaccine providers in the first phase to administer vaccines only to residents and staff of long-term care facilities; those aged 65 or over; and health personnel with direct contact with patients.
There will be a bottleneck in getting so many doses to all those who need it and want it.
DeSantis said the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are already in most hospitals and county health departments could begin inoculating as early as Monday. But he also warned that health departments would have a limited supply.
“We will continue to receive hundreds of thousands of doses for the vaccine,” he said.
According to state data, there were 68,133 people vaccinated with the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine in Florida as of Tuesday. Those receiving the first dose should receive a second booster shot about 21 days later to be fully immunized.
Some Democratic governors like JB Pritzjer in Illinois are complaining about not getting their share of vaccines. In fact, because it takes two doses to completely immunize someone, the feds sent the states half the number of promised doses as they prepared to send the other half in a couple of weeks.
But that didn’t stop Pritzker from being stimulated. With millions of doses on ice in stores, the paranoid Pritzker believes the president is punishing him for his strong criticism.
WITHOUT:
The announcement prompted Pfizer to issue a statement of its own on Thursday morning stating that the reduction in vaccines intended for states did not stem from problems related to the manufacture or delivery of vaccines. The pharmaceutical company added that it has millions more doses sitting in stores awaiting instructions from the federal government on where to send them.
On Thursday, Pritzker appeared to raise his hands at Pfizer’s statement.
“I don’t know what to say about that,” the governor said. “I have not had any direct conversation with the people who control these doses. Ours (Illinois Department of Public Health) talks to the federal government every day and they have not informed us why the federal government is not eliminating these vaccines. “
In contrast to Pritzker, DeSantis doesn’t complain or complain, he’s acting. Maybe Pritzker could learn a Florida lesson and do the same.