TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — More Floridians will soon have the chance to get vaccinated against the coronavirus.
When discussing the new federally-run sites that are coming to Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis said Tuesday that he wants teachers, law enforcement officers and firefighters who are 50 and older to be next in line to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
“We’re excited about the federally supported sites,” DeSantis said. “We’re also gonna be able to offer [shots] for law enforcement, fire, and classroom teachers with those federally-supported sites coming online.”
“I think we’ll start age 50 and above.”
DeSantis said once the Johnson & Johnson vaccine gets distributed and Pfizer ramps up production, Florida will be able to accept a wider demographic, like teachers and first responders, into its state-supported vaccination sites.
Last week, DeSantis announced the state plans to open four federally-run vaccine sites in Tampa, Miami, Orlando and Jacksonville. The site in Tampa would be at the Tampa Greyhound Track on E. Waters Avenue. It’s set to open sometime next week.
Right now, frontline health care workers and older adults 65 and older are eligible to get the vaccine. DeSantis said 50% of Floridians in that demographic have been vaccinated.
“We also, as we get into approval for the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, and as Pfizer increases their production, we still have seniors to do, that’s still the priority, but we can take some and really knock out a lot of these folks potentially pretty quickly,” said Governor Desantis.
It’s still unclear when the new group can start getting the vaccine, but DeSantis said it will be soon.
