Governor DeSantis prioritizes early vaccinations for anyone 65 and older

PENSACOLA, Fla. – A day after breaking with the guide of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on the priority of obtaining vaccines against COVID-19, announcing that priority would be given to people aged 70 or over over essential workers, the Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis lowered the target age again Wednesday – to 65.

“The problem is that people who are 73, 74 would be behind the line for a 21-year-old worker who is considered ‘essential.’ I think that doesn’t make sense,” DeSantis told Sacred Hospital Pensacola’s Heart Ascension.

DeSantis said he soon announced a registration procedure so the general public can get vaccinated and that the shots could be available on Monday next week.

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

Executive Order 20-315, signed by DeSantis on Wednesday, describes the priorities of the first phase of vaccine administration as:

• Residents and staff of long-term care centers
• People 65 years or older
• Health personnel with direct contact with the patient

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

The next priority when more vaccine arrives would be police, firefighters and teachers, DeSantis said.

DeSantis said about 4.4 million Florida residents are over 65 and more than 3 million are over 70. According to the American Associated for Retired Persons, more than 70% of COVID fatalities nationwide have been people over 65 years of age.

DeSantis’ move was applauded by the Florida Hospital Association.

“They are at the highest risk of COVID-19. Without a doubt, they are at the highest risk of being admitted to hospital, ”said Mary Mathew, President of the FHA.

With hospitalizations more than doubled since September, Mayhew hopes addressing the elderly will ensure open beds for COVID and non-COVID patients.

“We know that cancer and heart attacks have not gone away and we need to make sure the system also has the capacity to support those needs,” Mayhew said.

The DeSantis plan is a break with the recommendations of the CDC, which put vaccinations of healthy seniors under the age of 75 into phase II.

After health care workers and long-term facility residents, the next groups recommended for vaccine priority are first aiders, 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 essential workers, including food service workers, construction workers, bank tellers, computers and communications, public safety and media.

But the decision of who actually gets the vaccine is up to the states.

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

“These are probably the first members of the community who are older people to get vaccinated, maybe anywhere in the country, but certainly in Florida,” DeSantis said of the group. “This is kind of a preview of what we expect to expect a lot over the next few weeks and months.”

Previously, Florida has focused on administering vaccines to front-line health care workers and those living and working in long-term care centers. 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’s approval which is a dose, I think you’ll be able to offer it broadly and I think some of the key areas, whether it’s the law the application, the fire, whether they are teachers, I think they will have access to it, ”DeSantis said.

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

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

On Wednesday, DeSantis was asked if he would get the vaccine like other politicians in the country.

“We are setting criteria and I will follow the criteria we set,” he said. “It doesn’t make sense for someone 42 years old to pass in front of someone who is 70 years old … If there’s a dose left here in Pensacola for this week, I wanted to go to an older person, I don’t want me.”

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio has been 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.