4/17/2021

Florida Department of Health Provides Week 18 Updates on Florida’s Vaccination Efforts Under Governor DeSantis’ Leadership

~Federally-Supported Vaccination Sites Resume First Doses Tuesday, April 20~

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 eighteenth week of vaccine distribution and is continuing to increase vaccine access statewide.

The state will resume Pfizer first dose vaccinations at the federally-supported vaccination sites in Tampa, Orlando, Jacksonville and Miami on Tuesday, April 20. First doses were paused this week, due to a recommendation to pause all use of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The state is continuing to work with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to determine first dose capacity under the change in vaccine brands. More information regarding capacity will be released as it becomes available.

The state also continues to offer the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines at other state-supported vaccination sites. Individuals are encouraged to visit a state-supported vaccination site to receive a vaccine. A list of state-supported vaccination sites and the type of vaccine offered are available at FloridaDisaster.org/Vaccine.

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., 7,823,859 individuals have been vaccinated for COVID-19 in Florida; 3,567,386 million are seniors ages 65 and older. 

State of Florida Vaccine Accomplishments To-Date:

Week 18 (Underway)

• Federally-supported vaccination sites will administer first doses of the Pfizer vaccine beginning Tuesday, April 20, due to the recommendation to pause the use of all Johnson and Johnson vaccines. Individuals ages 16 and older will be eligible to receive a first dose of the Pfizer vaccine at the federally-supported vaccination sites. More information about the federally-supported vaccination sites is available here.
• Governor DeSantis announced that the Division has opened a new, permanent COVID-19 vaccination site at Florida Memorial University. The site can administer the COVID-19 vaccine to any Florida resident over the age of 18. The site is open daily from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. and walk-ups are accepted. The site opened April 13 and can administer up to 200 doses of the Moderna vaccine, per day.
• To date, more than 15,300 vaccines have been administered through the statewide homebound vaccination program. The state continues to encourage homebound individuals to sign up to receive a COVID-19 vaccine at their home by filling out the survey available here, emailing HomeboundVaccine@em.myflorida.com or by calling 866-779-6121.
• The state continues to canvass Florida’s communities with COVID-19 vaccine outreach teams that help answer questions about the COVID-19 vaccine, help individuals identify vaccination sites near them and pre-register individuals for vaccine appointments. To date, state outreach teams have knocked on more than 400,000 doors across the state.
• 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 90,500 vaccines have been administered in partnership with places of worship. Find this week’s places of worship vaccine events here.
• Under Governor DeSantis' leadership, more than 1,900 vaccination sites have been opened statewide in partnership with local communities, pharmacies 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.