Government DeSantis prioritizes early vaccines for anyone 65 or older

PENSACOLA, Fla. – One day after breaking the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s guidelines for the priority of getting COVID-19 vaccinations, announcing that people 70 and older would be prioritized over essential workers, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis set the target age Wednesday again – up to 65.

“The problem is that people aged 73.74 would be standing in the back of line for a young 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 he said a sign-up process for the general public to receive vaccines will be announced shortly, and the shots could be available as early as next Monday.

“Don’t rush to your local hospital or health department,” DeSantis said, adding that while vaccines intended for the senior population will be out soon, “it will be a relatively limited supply.”

Executive Order 20-315, which DeSantis signed on Wednesday, outlines the priorities for phase one of vaccination administration as:

• Residents and staff of long-term care facilities
• Persons aged 65 and over
• Healthcare personnel with direct patient contact

The order does say that hospital providers may also vaccinate anyone they consider extremely vulnerable to COVID-19.

The next priority when more vaccines come in is law enforcement, firefighters and teachers, DeSantis said.

About 4.4 million Florida residents are over the age of 65 and more than 3 million are over the age of 70, DeSantis said. According to the U.S. Associated for Retired Persons, more than 70% of COVID fatalities across the country are over 65.

DeSantis’s move was welcomed by the Florida Hospital Association.

“They are most at risk for COVID-19. They are certainly the ones most at risk of hospitalization, ”said Mary Mathew, president of the FHA.

With hospital admissions more than doubling since September, Mayhew hopes to target the elderly and ensure that both COVID and non-COVID patients have open beds.

“We know cancer, heart attacks – that hasn’t gone away, and we need to make sure the system can meet those needs,” Mayhew said.

DeSantis’ plan is a break with the CDC’s recommendations, which put vaccinations of healthy seniors under the age of 75 into Phase II.

Following health workers and long-term facility residents, the following groups recommended for vaccine priority are first responders, USPS employees, grocery store workers, and teachers. The CDC then recommends people between the ages of 65 and 74, people aged 16-64 with high-risk medical conditions, along with other essential workers, including food workers, construction, bank workers, IT & communications, public safety, and media.

But the decision about who gets the vaccine next is up to the United States.

A group of seniors in The Villages were vaccinated on Wednesday during DeSantis’ press conference at UF Health on Wednesday.

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

Previously, Florida focused on administering vaccines to primary care health professionals and people living and working in long-term care facilities. Last week, Florida received 179,400 doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, which was used for those groups.

“I think once we offer it to the elderly – and especially if we get a Johnson & Johnson approval that’s one dose – I think you’ll be able to offer it broadly and I think some of the key areas, whether it’s legal, enforcement, fire, be it teachers, I think they will have access, ”said DeSantis.

According to the Florida Department of Health, 68,133 people in the state have received a first dose of the vaccine as of Wednesday morning.

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

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

“We’re setting criteria and I’m going to stick to the criteria we’ve set,” he said. “It makes no sense for someone 42 years old to be ahead of someone 70 years old … If there is one dose left for this week here in Pensacola, I want to go to an elderly person, I don’t want it to me.”

Florida Senator Marco Rubio was criticized this week for getting the vaccine to the general public and frontline workers. Rubio is one of dozens of members of Congress who have had the vaccine to date. Some said they did it to instill confidence in the vaccine.