Gov. Ron DeSantis said the state is not open to tourists seeking vaccinations at its COVID-19 sites in a press conference from The Villages on Tuesday.
DeSantis’ visit to the retirement mecca that spans parts of Lake, Sumter and Marion counties highlighted it as only the second state-run drive-through site in Florida.
“Now at The Villages as many of you may know, a lot of times you may just do it in golf cart, so it’s a little cold so most of them are doing their car,” DeSantis said. “I did see a couple in their golf cart. They thought it was convenient.”
There are dozens of county-run sites also offering drive-through vaccinations for those 65 and older. The Villages site can handle 800-1,000 shots a day, DeSantis said.
When asked about whether the state is limiting vaccines to residents, DeSantis said,” We’re not doing any tourists.”
He did say that snowbirds didn’t fall into that category, but cited that when news outlets pointed out that Florida was giving shots to senior citizens, there was interest from those who wanted to know if they could come and get them.
“You have literally people all over the world and all over the country calling here to see,” DeSantis said. “We’re not doing it for tourists. We’re not doing it for interlopers.”
DeSantis touted his direction to focus on senior citizens after front-line workers and nursing homes, something that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is reportedly going to recommend to all states.
“Putting seniors first was the right decision,” DeSantis said. “If you look at Florida in terms of number of shots we have for senior citizens we are leading the country by a country mile on this. The vast majority of our shots have gone to people 65 and up.”
Statewide 597,119 people have received the first dose of the coronavirus vaccine, according to the DOH report released Tuesday. Of those who have received at least the first dose, more than 345,000 are over the age of 65. A detailed breakdown of who has been vaccinated so far can be found here.
DeSantis said the state infrastructure to dole out the vaccines is running well and outpacing the supply coming from the federal government. The state was being delivered on Monday and Tuesday nearly 250,000 doses of the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, DeSantis said.
“We will do that this week, without question,” he said. “We’re doing it at a clip that’s exceeding what we’re getting it right now.”
DeSantis has said he’s asked the federal government to up its supply to Florida as well, and addressed the news that the rollout of vaccine is shifting so that the federal guidance will be for states to not hold back any shots for a second dose, but focus on getting as many first doses of the vaccine to the most vulnerable populations as much as possible.
“We’re going to be ready to move on that,” DeSantis said, but did stress that Florida will make sure that those who have had their first shot also get the booster.
“We’re not NOT doing the booster, that’s important to know,” DeSantis said. “To get that 95% (efficacy) you’ve got to do the booster.”
In the event the state gets more supply from the federal government, he said the worst-case scenario is that you would get to the end of February and have to hold off some first-round shots to ensure those who were waiting received their second-round booster.
“We’re prepared either way,” he said. “If you can get Florida more, we have the throughput to the get the shot into seniors’ arms.”
DeSantis announced at a second press conference from Niceville the expansion of the pilot program that state has with Publix to three Panhandle counties.
“I just want to say, Publix has done a great job with this,” DeSantis said. “We are now expanding the footprint.”
What began with 22 pharmacies in Marion, Citrus and Hernando counties, delivering 100-125 shots per store per day, will now ramp up with 26 locations in Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, Escambia, Bay and Walton counties with reservations beginning Wednesday and shots beginning on Thursday.
Noting those three counties border Georgia and Alabama, he reiterated that they’re meant for Florida residents.
“I know we have other states that are close by here. You guys follow what your state’s doing,” DeSantis said. “Here, this is going to be for folks who are in Florida.”
He said the Publix program could expand further, especially if the state’s vaccine supplies increase.
“It’s a sensible thing, you have to think through the implications from it,” DeSantis said. “We’re monitoring what they’re deciding to do. … If they unleash that, we’re going to want to expand to even more stores.”
