On Tuesday, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced that Florida’s official reporting now reflects more than 1 million seniors 65 and older have been vaccinated in the state, leading the nation in vaccinations of seniors.
“Florida is full speed ahead with our Seniors First strategy and it is working,” said DeSantis. “The state’s reporting now shows that we have vaccinated more than one million seniors, which accounts for nearly 70 percent of Florida’s total vaccinations to date and is leading the nation in this all-important effort.”
Florida is leading among all states in vaccinations of individuals 65 years of age and older. In addition to more than 1 million seniors vaccinated, the state is on track to have offered the COVID-19 vaccine to every resident and staff member in Florida’s almost 700 nursing homes and over 3,000 assisted living facilities by the end of the month.
The governor’s office showcased the following efforts and actions to get seniors vaccinated:
Florida was the first state in the nation to prioritize the vaccination of seniors. While the CDC originally recommended the prioritization of “essential workers” they have since changed course to follow DeSantis’ lead.
This week, DeSantis announced the expansion of the state’s partnership with Publix to establish COVID-19 vaccination sites at a total of more than 260 Publix locations in 20 counties.
In total, more than 70 vaccination sites have been opened statewide in partnership with local communities and hospitals. In addition to Publix, the state has worked collaboratively at all levels to increase vaccine access statewide to include utilizing places of worship, hospital partnerships and state-run vaccination sites.
Under DeSantis’ direction, the Florida Division of Emergency Management continues to administer vaccines in long-term care facilities across the state. These efforts are supplementing and accelerating the vaccinations being undertaken by CVS and Walgreens, pursuant to their agreement with the federal government and reaffirms Florida’s commitment to prioritize vaccine access to our most vulnerable populations. The state is expecting that staff and residents at all of Florida’s more than 4,000 long term care facilities will be vaccinated by the end of the month.
Governor DeSantis reaffirmed the state’s commitment to the two-dose regimen for both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, despite discussions happening at the federal level regarding vaccine allocations.
