2/5/2021

Florida Department of Health Provides Week Eight Updates on Florida’s Vaccination Efforts Under Governor DeSantis’ Leadership

~Florida Continues to Expand Access to COVID-19 Vaccine and Put Seniors First~

Today, the Florida Department of Health issued an update on the progress of the state's vaccination efforts, as well as its weekly COVID-19 update. The State of Florida is in its eighth week of vaccine distribution and is continuing to increase vaccine access statewide.

Under Governor DeSantis' leadership, the state continues to develop proactive strategies to increase vaccine access to Florida's seniors.

This week, Governor DeSantis announced an inter-faith vaccine event at Aventura Turnberry Jewish Center, the first faith-based vaccination site with representation from multiple faiths.

Additionally, Governor DeSantis announced that the state is initiating a pilot program to deliver vaccines to homebound seniors, beginning with Holocaust survivors in Florida. The state has identified 750 Holocaust survivors and spouses eligible for the vaccine in Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade and Martin counties, and is offering them the COVID-19 vaccine this week.

By opening sites with the faith-based community and beginning a program for seniors who cannot leave their homes, Governor DeSantis is continuing to expand access to the COVID-19 vaccine for Florida’s seniors. To date, more than 1.3 million individuals 65 and older have been vaccinated in Florida, which is more than 72% of all individuals vaccinated in the state.

Governor DeSantis’ administration is taking the necessary steps to ensure the vaccine gets administered as quickly as possible. This week, new actions to continue Florida’s proactive approach to vaccinations includes the following:

Vaccinations:

To provide Floridians with the latest information about vaccinations in the state, the Florida Department of Health has issued a COVID-19 vaccine report that is updated daily. This report includes information on the COVID-19 vaccine by county, race, sex and age. Find the COVID-19 vaccine report here.

As of today, at 7 a.m., 1,894,209 individuals have been vaccinated for COVID-19 in Florida. 

The Florida Department of Health continues to provide updates on cases, testing, and fatalities related to COVID-19. Please find all daily reports here.

State of Florida Vaccine Accomplishments To-Date:

Week Eight (Underway)

• Under Governor DeSantis’ leadership, the state is developing a pilot program to offer the COVID-19 vaccine to homebound seniors. The pilot program is beginning with the vaccination of 750 Holocaust survivors and their spouses. More information is available here.
• Governor DeSantis announced that the state will be sending 4,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine to reopen a vaccination site in The Villages. This site, which will now be permanent, will be in addition to the permanent vaccination site at the Wildwood Community Center, also in Sumter County. More information is available here.
• At the Governor’s direction, the Florida Department of Health and the Florida Division of Emergency Management allocated 28,500 vaccine doses to 33 hospitals statewide for use for individuals deemed extremely vulnerable to COVID-19.  
• Governor DeSantis announced that Johnson & Johnson has requested emergency use authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for their COVID-19 vaccine. Governor DeSantis’ announcement is available here.
• The state also continues to expand the partnership with Publix to increase vaccine access statewide. This week, Governor DeSantis announced Nassau, Pasco and Pinellas counties will be added to the list of counties where Florida Publix pharmacies are administering the COVID-19 vaccine. In total, 325 Publix locations across 23 counties offer COVID-19 vaccinations to individuals 65 and older, as well as frontline health care workers. Find the full list of vaccination sites at Publix locations here.  
• Governor DeSantis announced Florida’s continued momentum on vaccinating Floridians 65 and older. This week, Florida’s official reporting reflected that more than 1.3 million seniors 65 and older have been vaccinated in the state, leading the nation in the vaccinations of seniors. The state’s COVID-19 vaccine summary report is available here.
• Governor DeSantis joined Anquan Boldin and Florida Lottery Secretary John Davis to open a vaccine site in Pahokee to provide vaccinations for the community. Find that announcement here.
• At the Governor’s direction, the Florida Division of Emergency Management and the Florida Department of Health continue to identify places of worship and other locations in underserved communities where the COVID-19 vaccine may be administered. To date, more than 13,000 individuals have been vaccinated in partnership with places of worship. This week, the state is holding another 26 one-day vaccine events with the faith-based community. Find all locations to date here.
• To date, more than 2 million individuals have preregistered through the state’s COVID-19 vaccine appointment preregistration system. Counties continue to opt-in on a daily basis and to date, 15 counties are fully onboarded to the statewide system. More information about the statewide system is available here.
• Under Governor DeSantis' leadership, more than 330 vaccination sites have been opened statewide in partnership with local communities and hospitals. The Florida Department of Health continues to identify active vaccine sites. All vaccine sites in Florida are posted on the Florida Department of Health's website here. 

Last week’s accomplishments are available here.

About the Florida Department of Health

The Florida Department of Health, nationally accredited by the Public Health Accreditation Board, works to protect, promote and improve the health of all people in Florida through integrated state, county and community efforts.

Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter at @HealthyFla. For more information please visit www.FloridaHealth.gov.