Courtesy: Gov. Ron DeSantis
Florida is expanding its vaccine eligibility to anyone age 18 and older by next month, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced yesterday.
The news comes coupled with the vaccine eligibility expansion for adults age 40 and older beginning next Monday, March 29.
Following less demand for the vaccine as the age range has tapered into the younger crowd, the state made the decision to drop the vaccine eligibility requirement to the 60+ age group less than two weeks ago and has since dropped the age in waves of 5-10 years at a time.
Beginning next Monday, March 29, all residents falling in the following categories will be eligible to get the vaccine:
- Long-term care facility staff and residents
- Frontline health care workers
- Sworn law enforcement, firefighters age 40 or older, K-12 school employees
- “Extremely-Vulnerable” population, any age is allowed as long as doctor’s note is presented stating condition and signed by physician
- Adults age 40+
Beginning Monday, April 5, the vaccine eligibility requirement will drop yet again to include all categories mentioned above, plus
- Adults age 18+
A doctor’s note will not be required after the April 5th release for anyone 18 or older but will be required for anyone under 18.
In the video announcement, Go. Ron DeSantis highlighted that the state had successfully inoculated more than 3.2 million seniors throughout the state, which crosses the 70% mark of the estimated senior population in Florida.
“We’ve also made great progress on those age 60 to 64 and on those age 50 and older, and we’re ready to take this step,” he said.
Thanks to the expansion of the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program within the state, more residents have had access to quicker, smaller locations such as Publix, CVS, Walmart, and more, relieving pressure from the larger drive-thru sites. According to a news release from the governor’s office, vaccines are available “at 150 CVS locations, 125 Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club locations, more than 70 Winn Dixie locations, soon-to-be over 600 Walgreens pharmacies, and every single one of the 730 Publix pharmacies across the state.”
Florida residents looking to receive the vaccine are encouraged to pre-register through the state’s website at myvaccine.fl.gov or call the pre-registration number listed for their county. Once this step is completed, the person will be contacted once the vaccine is available in their area.
While vaccine demand varies by county, the state has rapidly charged forward with increasing the inoculation eligibility in order to fast-track the population’s increased immunity against COVID-19.
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Mike has more than 30 years of experience in marketing and public relations. He once owned his own agency and has worked with some of the largest brands in the world.
