Florida's governor is not prioritizing essential workers for vaccines, ignoring official advice. 'I don't think that's the direction we want to go,' he said.
- Florida's governor Ron DeSantis says the state will not prioritize essential workers in the next round of coronavirus vaccinations.
- Instead, those over 70 years old will be next in line to be immunized.
- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advised Sunday that essential workers, such as firefighters and teachers, and people over 75 should be vaccinated next.
- "If you're a 22-year-old worker in food services at a supermarket, you would have preference over a 74-year-old grandmother. I don't think that's the direction we want to go," DeSantis said Tuesday.
The governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, said Tuesday that essential workers will not be prioritized in the state's next round of COVID-19 vaccinations, going against US health officials' advice.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommended at a meeting on Sunday that frontline essential workers and people over the age of 75 should be next in line for a shot.
But DeSantis, a Republican, said at a news conference Tuesday that people over the age of 70 will come first.
"The vaccines are going to be targeted where the risk is going to be greatest, and that's in our elderly population," DeSantis said. "We are not going to put young, healthy workers ahead of our elderly, vulnerable population."
This would appear to mean that younger people with underlying health conditions are also not being prioritized, per the Miami Herald.
States get to decide who to prioritize for COVID-19 vaccines. Florida has one of the highest average populations of any US state, with a fifth of people aged 65 or over, according to US Census Bureau estimates.
The governor said it would take time to administer the shots, considering Florida has 4.4 million people over 65, and 3.12 million over 75.
"What I would say to the elderly population: It's going to be reserved for you. Not everyone's going to be able to do it on day one, it's going to take some time to be able to make sure everybody has access," DeSantis said.
The CDC classified frontline essential workers as first responders (such as firefighters and police officers), education staff, food and agriculture workers, manufacturing workers, corrections officers, US Postal Service staff, public transit workers, and staff at grocery stores.
"If you're a 22 year-old worker in food services at a supermarket, you would have preference over a 74 year-old grandmother. I don't think that's the direction we want to go," DeSantis said at a press conference.
"There's some confusion about who should be kind of in line first - some say some of the younger workers - we want to be clear in Florida: We've got to put our parents and grandparents first and that's what we're going to be doing. And we're going to work like hell to be able to get all the vaccine out to elderly who want it," DeSantis said.
The Florida governor has ignored parts of US health authorities' advice since the start of the pandemic. DeSantis didn't put a statewide mask mandate in place and has banned local officials from fining Floridians for not wearing face coverings in public.
DeSantis has not received the COVID-19 vaccine yet, but announced that he intends to get the shot in a "couple more months," West Palm Beach TV reported on Monday.