TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida will open eligibility requirements to anyone 18 and older on April 5, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Thursday.
Starting March 29, the eligibility requirement for getting the vaccine will drop from 50 to 40, the governor said in a news release. The age requirement dropped from 60 to 50 on Monday. Until the latest eligibility expansion, only people age 60 and older, health care workers, law enforcement, firefighters, school employees and people considered medically vulnerable by a doctor were eligible for the vaccines.
Caribbean-American community leaders like Hazelle Rogers, the mayor of Lauderdale Lakes and Broward County Schools Superintendent Robert Runcie are among those that have taken the shot.
Across the United States, vaccine eligibility has been lowered to younger residents. Ohio, Arizona, and Indiana have lowered the eligibility, giving 16-year-olds access to the shot. Georgia and Texas plan to do so before the end of the month.
The Governor for Florida said the state has made great progress in its vaccination efforts.
“We have now vaccinated over 70% of the roughly 4.4 million seniors living in the state. We have also made great progress on those age 60 to 64 and those age 50 and older,” DeSantis said in announcing the next steps.
The governor urged people interested in getting the vaccine to pre-register at www.myvaccine.fl.gov. They will then be notified when the vaccine is available in their area. There is also vaccine pre-registration phone number in each county for anyone who does not have online access.
