Florida close to dropping age limits, opening COVID vaccinations to all, DeSantis says

Florida will open coronavirus vaccinations to people as young as 55 “relatively soon,” then make shots available to everyone, Gov. Ron DeSantis said Wednesday at an appearance in Sumter County.

The state’s eligibility for vaccination is currently 65 and up, and it will move to 60 and up starting Monday, DeSantis said.

“We’ll lower the age to 55 in due time,” he added. “It’s all dependent on how we’re doing with getting the 60 to 64. But that will happen relatively soon.”

After that, the state “probably could just open it up to the general public at that point,” DeSantis said, pointing out that Florida’s supply of doses from the federal government is growing, as is the Federal Pharmacy Program.

Meanwhile, demand among seniors, who DeSantis firmly prioritized for shots, is softening in many of the state’s 67 counties, he said. The state is trying to “surge resources” to those lagging behind.

Each time Florida lowers the age by five years, about 2 million more people become eligible for shots, the governor said. As of Wednesday, nearly 3.8 million people had been vaccinated in Florida, state data shows. More than 2.7 million, or about 72 percent, were 65 or older