Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed an executive order Friday allowing all Floridians age 50 and older to get vaccinated for COVID-19.
The allowance will decrease the age of eligibility from its previous requirement of 60 and older. Certain front-line workers older than 50, including K-12 school staff, law enforcement, and firefighters, have also been able to get the vaccine throughout the state.
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“As we stand now, Florida has vaccinated over 3 million senior citizens or close to 70% of all seniors have had a shot,” the governor told a group of reporters, according to the Palm Beach Post. “That was our goal starting out.”
“It’s really slowed down in terms of demand. There was a critical mass of seniors who wanted to get it,” he added. “There is definitely a segment opting not to get it.”
President Biden directed states to make all of their adult residents eligible for the vaccine by May 1, he said in a public address March 11.
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“I think we will definitely be opening it up to everybody, certainly before May 1 and maybe much sooner than that, so stay tuned there,” DeSantis added.
Thirteen percent of Florida’s population has been fully vaccinated, according to data from the New York Times, with more than 1.9 million cases of the coronavirus reported in the state, along with 32,650 deaths related to it.
