PENSACOLA, Florida – In a matter of days, Florians 65 and older could get the COVID-19 vaccine.
Speaking at the Ascension Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola on Wednesday, Gov. Ron DeSantis said he is signing an executive order that will allow people over 65 or older to be vaccinated as a “first priority” once front-line health workers and residents and staff long-term care facilities receive the vaccine.
“The state of Florida prioritizes our COVID-19 vaccine for the elderly,” DeSantis said. “They will have priority over ordinary workers under the age of 65.”
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Rulers 65 and older can receive the COVID-19 vaccine later, according to Gov. Ron DeSantis
In announcing this executive order, DeSantis breaks the recommendations of an advisory committee of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which recently said essential workers and people 75 and older should receive the vaccine. then.
DeSantis argued that vaccinating the most vulnerable population age 65 and older will reduce hospitalizations and deaths from COVID-19.
“It doesn’t make sense for someone 42 years old to get ahead of someone who is 70 years old,” DeSantis said. “The problem is that people who are 73, 74 years old would be behind the line for a young 21-year-old worker who is considered budgeting as essential. I think that doesn’t make sense.”
DeSantis said that according to his executive order, once a hospital has just vaccinated all front-line doctors, nurses and health workers, they can start administering the COVID-19 vaccine to people in general who are 65 years old. or more.
In addition, the governor said county health departments are now receiving shipments of the vaccine and will begin administering it to people 65 and older as early as Monday.
“We want to work to get it to our older population,” DeSantis said. “We think it’s very, very important to reduce mortality and reduce the number of people who need to be hospitalized.”
Hundreds of thousands of doses of COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna have been arriving in Florida since last week, and DeSantis said he expects hundreds of thousands more doses to continue to arrive each week for the “foreseeable future.”
“There are a lot of fantastic things going on. A lot of hope, a lot of optimism,” DeSantis said. “We go where the risk is greatest and where we believe the impact will be most consequential.”
After the population is 65 and older, DeSantis said the next phase of vaccination against COVID-19 in Florida could include police officers, firefighters, teachers and utility workers.
“Then I think you have a chance for a wider type of audience to do that,” DeSantis said.