Governor dangles idea of vaccines for everyone

Flor- TALLAHASSEE, FLA. — ida Gov. Ron DeSantis suggested Thursday that he could widen vaccinations against the coronavirus to the general public as soon as April, possibly becoming the first state to offer the vaccines to anyone who wants them in a place that was an early epicenter of the virus.

The governor’s announce- ment underscored confidence that the wider avail- ability of vaccines, especially Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose vaccine, will allow the state to quickly provide shots to anyone eager for one and boost lagging vaccina- tion rates in rural counties.

DeSantis said at a news conference that the widened availability of shots would depend on vaccine deliv- eries from the federal government — but he expressed confidence that production would soon ramp up.

D eS a ntis had already planned to lower the eligibility age for vaccinations to 55 — making that announcement just days after dropping it to 60 from the current minimum of 65. He said that was possible because of the state’s high rate of vaccination of seniors and softening demand among the oldest seniors.

“We could be in a situation to go down to 60 on Monday, we get to 55 relatively soon, and as the supply floodgates open, we could be in a position sometime in April where it’s just available and people can get it,” he said.

The prospect of widespread availability of shots comes as the governor also announced a further expansion of the vaccination infrastructure that includes partnerships with retail pharmacies, including those at hundreds of grocery stores and chain drugstores.

The governor has been under pressure by critics to expand the distribution of vaccines — not just geographically but also socioeconomically.