Governor DeSantis prioritizes early vaccines for anyone aged 65 and over

PENSACOLA, Florida. – The day after breaking the guidance of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention on the priority of receiving COVID-19 vaccines, announcing that people aged 70 and over would be prioritized over essential workers, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, reduced the target age again on Wednesday – to 65.

“The problem is that people aged 73, 74 would be behind the line for a 21-year-old worker who is considered ‘essential’. I don’t think that makes sense, ”said DeSantis at Ascension Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola.

DeSantis said a registration procedure for the general public to receive vaccines would be announced soon and that vaccines could be available as early as Monday next week.

“Don’t rush into the hospital or the local health department,” said DeSantis, adding that, although vaccines will begin to be distributed to the elderly population soon, “it will be a relatively limited supply.”

Executive Order 20-315, which DeSantis signed Wednesday, defines the priorities for the first phase of vaccine administration as:

• Residents and employees of long-term care institutions
• People aged 65 and over
• Health personnel with direct contact with the patient

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

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

About 4.4 million Florida residents are over 65 and over 3 million are over 70, said DeSantis. According to the American Associated for Retired People, more than 70% of deaths in COVID across the country were from people over 65.

DeSantis’ move was applauded by the Florida Hospital Association.

“They are at the greatest risk of COVID-19. They are certainly the most at risk of being hospitalized, ”said Mary Mathew, president of the FHA.

With hospitalizations more than doubling since September, Mayhew hopes that targeting the elderly will ensure open beds for patients with COVID and non-COVID.

“We know about cancer, heart attacks – they haven’t gone away and we need to make sure that there is capacity in the system to meet those needs as well,” said Mayhew.

DeSantis’ plan is a departure from the CDC’s recommendations, which put vaccination for healthy elderly people under 75 in Phase II.

After health professionals and long-term facility residents, the next groups recommended for vaccine priority are the first responders, USPS staff, grocery workers and teachers. The CDC then recommends people aged 65 to 74, people aged 16 to 64 with high-risk medical conditions, along with other essential workers, including food service workers, construction workers, bank tellers, IT and communications, security public and media.

But the decision of who actually gets the vaccine then falls on the states.

A group of elderly people in the Villages was vaccinated on Wednesday during a DeSantis news conference at UF Saúde on Wednesday.

“These are probably the first members of the community who are elderly citizens to be vaccinated, perhaps anywhere in the country, but certainly in Florida,” said DeSantis of the group. “This is a kind of preview of what we will be looking forward to in the coming weeks and months.”

Florida has previously focused on administering vaccines to frontline healthcare professionals and those who live and work in long-term care facilities. Last week, Florida received 179,400 doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, which was used for these groups.

“I think that once we offer it to the elderly – and especially if we get approval from Johnson & Johnson, which is a dose – I think you’ll be able to offer it widely and I think some of the main areas, are enforcement laws, fire, be teachers, I think they’ll have access, ”said DeSantis.

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

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

DeSantis was asked on Wednesday whether he would get the vaccine like other politicians across the country.

“We are defining criteria and I will follow the criteria that we have defined,” he said. “It doesn’t make sense for a 42-year-old to jump in front of a 70-year-old … If there’s a dose left here in Pensacola for this week, I wanted to go to an elderly person, I don’t want to go to me.

Florida Senator Marco Rubio faced criticism this week for receiving the vaccine in front of the general public and frontline workers. Rubio is among dozens of congressmen who have already received the vaccine. Some said they did so to inspire confidence in the vaccine.