Gov. Ron DeSantis said Friday that Florida will start offering Covid-19 vaccines to all people age 50 and older starting today.
Last week, Florida lowered the age threshold from 65 to 60, but the governor said softening demand convinced him the state could go to 50. “The demand has been relatively modest, so we think this makes sense,” said DeSantis who made the announcement at a news conference where he was joined by emergency management Director Jared Moskowitz. The pair also went over steps the state has taken to get “shots in arms” of residents.
DeSantis’ announcement came after some local officials said they planned to lower the age threshold to 50, or, in the case of Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings, to 40. DeSantis bristled when asked about the Orange County plans, saying “it’s not his decision to make.” He then called on Demings to do more to vaccinate older residents, saying that Orange County has only vaccinated about 63 percent of people age 65 or older. DeSantis said the next step for Florida will be to open up the vaccines to all adults. He said he did not know the exact timing but made clear it would occur ahead of President Joe Biden’s May 1 goal. “I can’t tell you exactly when that will happen, but it will definitely be before May 1,” DeSantis said.
The development occurs a little more than a year after the novel coronavirus showed up in the state, as Florida topped 2 million cases of Covid-19.
With the addition of 5,105 reported cases Saturday, the total hit 2,004,362 confirmed cases since the pandemic started, according to the Florida Department of Health.
The milestone was another reminder of the toll that Covid-19, the respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus, has taken on the state, killing at least 32,713 Floridians and sickening countless others. Another 624 non-residents have died in the state.
During the past three months, the state has rushed to vaccinate people, with about 4.82 million receiving at least one dose — including more than 3.1 million seniors, who are particularly vulnerable to the virus. Gov. Ron DeSantis has pinned his Covid-19 strategy on vaccinations, including allowing all people ages 50 and older to get shots starting Monday.
–News Service of Florida
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