Publix, CVS to accept vaccine appointments for people 50 and older

Ahead of the planned expansion of vaccine availability in Florida, Publix has already started accepting appointments for anyone 50 or older.

The supermarket chain began accepting those appointments Friday after Governor Ron DeSantis announced he would sign an executive order that would make anyone 50 and older eligible for the vaccine during a newsletter in Tallahassee.

[Read the full executive order here]

“Since today’s scheduled event will be for appointments on Monday and Tuesday of next week, people over 50 can book their appointments starting today,” a Publix spokesperson said in a statement to News 6.

The online reservation system is open at 7 a.m. on Friday. As of 2:40 p.m. Friday, most appointments in the state were fully booked, including locations in every county in Central Florida.

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The Publix vaccine portal is open every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 7am at Publix.com/covidvaccine. Appointments must be made online.

All 730 Publix pharmacy locations in Florida offer the vaccine by appointment only.

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CVS accepts appointments on Mondays for any Floridian over 50 years old. Anyone interested in scheduling an appointment at CVS should sign up via this link.

Walgreens accepts appointments on Sundays for any Floridian over the age of 50. Anyone interested in scheduling an appointment at Walgreens should sign up using this link.

Winn-Dixie pharmacies also plan to make changes to adapt to the new eligibility requirements.

“We are working with the State of Florida and the Florida Department of Health to determine best practices and make changes to our current system to serve all eligible customers in this newly expanded age group,” Kaley Shaffer, Southeastern Grocers’ director of public relations said in a statement. “We expect these changes to be implemented in our process early next week, and we ask our customers to be patient as we adjust to the evolving eligibility criteria.”

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DeSantis said he expects everyone to be eligible for vaccines shortly after the extension age 50 and older.

“I think demand was relatively modest, certainly much more modest than at the end of December, when we did 65 and plus,” said Desantis. “So we think this makes sense and I think we’ll see how it goes next week, but I think we’ll definitely open it up to everyone, especially before May 1 and maybe much earlier than that, so stay tuned. There.”

The governor did not provide a timeline for when everyone would be eligible.

To keep up to date with the latest news about the pandemic, subscribe to News 6’s coronavirus newsletter and go to Click Orlando.com/coronavirus