Floridians age 50 and older eligible to get a COVID-19 vaccine starting Monday

Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Friday that he will sign an executive order that will allow Floridians age 50 and older to get a COVID-19 vaccine.

This comes a day after Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings said people 40 and older could get the vaccine at the Orange County Convention Center starting Monday.

The governor did lower the age, but he didn’t lower it as far as the Orange County mayor did.

READ: Here’s where to find the COVID-19 vaccine in your county

It was clear Friday that the county did not get the blessing of the state.

On Thursday, Demings said the demand was not there at the Convention Center, so they are going to use the doses there to get as many people as they can vaccinated.

Other sites, like pharmacies, will require residents to be at least 50.

The governor said about 70% of seniors statewide have the vaccine.

DeSantis said he plans to open eligibility to everyone by May 1. He said it could be even sooner than that, depending on how the next rollout goes.

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Florida vaccine eligibility Starting on Monday, March 22, the eligibility age for the COVID-19 vaccine will be different at certain vaccination sites in Florida.

READ: ‘Everything we’ve been waiting for’: Orange County Convention Center to lower vaccine age to 40 beginning Monday

The governor also announced that Florida will receive more Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines next week.

So far, more than 3 million seniors have been vaccinated, according to DeSantis.

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Cox Media Group