TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WFLA/AP) — Residents in nursing homes and assisted-living facilities will be the first to get a coronavirus vaccine when Florida begins receiving it.
Gov. Ron DeSantis issued a video Wednesday evening setting the state’s priorities. He said while he expects the state to begin receiving vaccines later this month, there will not be enough for everyone who wants it.
The recommendations come following a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advisory panel, which said health care workers and long-term care residents should be at the top of the list to receive the vaccine.
“We want to get as much vaccine for our citizens as possible, but we know we will not, nor will any state, have enough to vaccinate everyone right off the bat,” DeSantis said in the three-minute video.
The second priority will be high-risk health care workers. If there’s enough left, he wants to make vaccines available for people 65 and older and those with serious health conditions that put them at risk.
The announcement comes as the Florida Department of Health reported more than 10,800 new cases on Thursday, its highest single-day increase since July.
DeSantis stressed that the state will not force anyone to take the vaccine.
“While we will encourage and we want to make available the vaccine, no one will be mandated to take the vaccine,” DeSantis said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
LATEST ON THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC:
- Everyone over 12 expected to be eligible for new boosters, White House official says
- CDC director announces reorganization, cites COVID mistakes
- ‘Kills your zest for eating’: Long-lasting loss of smell and taste from COVID-19 affects millions, study shows
- There may be three types of long COVID, study suggests
- Biden tests negative for COVID, isolating until 2nd negative test