Gov. Ron DeSantis unveils Florida’s COVID-19 vaccine plan; who will get it first?

ORLANDO, Fla. — With just weeks until a potential COVID-19 vaccine is approved, the governor released Florida’s vaccine plan.

Gov. Ron DeSantis unveiled who will get the vaccine first and when it could be more widely available on Wednesday evening.

With Pfizer and Moderna in the pipeline for Food and Drug Administration approval, officials estimate roughly 20 million people will be able to get the COVID-19 vaccine by the end of the year.

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DeSantis said he believes anywhere between 1 to 2 million of those doses will come to Florida.

“We could make our first shipment of vaccines to states this month,” DeSantis said.

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The governor said he will prioritize residents of long-term care facilities, health care workers and, if there are enough doses, people 65 and older, as well as those who have significant comorbidities.

“Distributing a vaccine across a large and diverse state is a big challenge, but this is a major priority for the state of Florida,” he said.

In the governor’s message, he made it clear that the vaccine is a want, not a need.

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“This will be available, but not mandated,” DeSantis said.

First shipments of coronavirus vaccine could be delivered by Dec. 15 (NCD)

Cox Media Group