STATEWIDE — More people in Central Florida now have the opportunity to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Anyone ages 60 and up can now get the shot statewide.


What You Need To Know


Gov. Ron DeSantis announced last week that the state will lower the age of eligibility to 60 and older, effective Monday, March 15.

According to the governor, demand for the vaccines among seniors age 65 and older has begun to decrease, so it's now time to begin offering the vaccine to younger people.

Now that anyone 60 or older is eligible for the vaccine, it means 1.4 million more Floridians have the opportunity to get vaccinated.

That means people like Kimbra Hennessy of Longwood, who has an appointment on Monday morning at the Orange County Convention Center site.

“I’m super excited because now I just have security of knowing I have an appointment and I don’t have to go to a walk-up or take any risk. I know that I’ll get vaccinated on Monday morning and that’s a really good feeling,” she said.

DeSantis says the minimum age could be lowered even further by the end of the month to ages 55 and up.

And Friday in Volusia County, he doubled down on President Joe Biden’s directive for states to open vaccinations to all adults by May first, saying he believed Florida can beat that deadline.

As of last Sunday, about three quarters of the 3.6 million Floridians who have gotten at least one vaccine dose are ages 65 and older.

According to the governor, that number equates to nearly 60% of Florida’s senior population.

DeSantis has said Florida will continue with an age-based approach to eligibility because older people remain more vulnerable to COVID-19.

The governor's executive order on vaccination priorities now includes:

  • Long-term care facility residents and staff;
  • Persons 60 years of age and older;
  • Health care personnel with direct patient contact;
  • K-12 school employees 50 years of age and older;
  • Sworn law enforcement officers 50 years of age and older; and
  • Firefighters 50 years of age and older. 

Those who are deemed medically vulnerable, according to the state, and are eligible for the vaccine include:

  • People who live in a nursing home or long-term care facility
  • People with chronic lung disease or moderate to severe asthma.
  • People who have serious heart conditions.
  • People who are immuno-compromised including cancer treatment.
  • People of any age with severe obesity.

Meanwhile, state health data shows people ages 15 to 54 are the leading age group for contracting the coronavirus.

Medical experts say ideally those people should be vaccinated since they are the most active in the community, but it all depends on supply.

“If you have supply for everyone then yes, they should be. On other hand if you have limited supply you need to prioritize no matter what their age is you should prioritize certain groups first,” said Dr. Syed Ahmed of the Osceola Regional Medical Center.

Reporter Asher Wildman contributed to this story.