DeSantis: More shot doses arriving soon

People 55 and up may become eligible

COVID vaccine doses are about to flow into Florida more freely, and that could have big implications for who gets the vaccine next, Gov. Ron DeSantis said Wednesday.

During a news briefing in Hernando County, the governor said Pfizer had been sending about 100,000 doses a week to the state and will increase that to about 200,000, he said. “If it’s not this week, hopefully by next week, and I think that’s going to go up more and more,” DeSantis said.

He said Florida also could soon get doses of the Johnson & Johnson single shot COVID vaccine that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday has met the requirements for emergency use authorization. Those doses could come as soon as next week, he said.

“We are looking at how

we are going to use it, but we are going to use it,” DeSantis said.

DeSantis said last week’s delayed shipment of Moderna vaccines has arrived, along with this week’s shipment.

The allocation of COVID vaccines to the state is in addition to doses coming from the federal government to retail pharmacies in Florida and four federal vaccination sites. Those federal mass vaccination sites will open next week and include a site in Miami-Dade. They will start with seniors and add law enforcement and teachers who are 50 and older.

With more doses arriving, DeSantis said he likely will lower the age of who is eligible.

“We’re going to do it based on facts and circumstances on the ground, based on progress getting through the 65-and-plus population,” he said. “Once we see the demand go down, then we are going to lower the age and get people at a minimal 60, and then maybe even 55, right off the bat. But it really is dependent on making sure we have the supply.”

Not everyone may want the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, even though it’s a single-dose shot.

Johnson & Johnson reported results of its phase 3 clinical trials in late January, finding that in the United States, the shot was 72% effective in preventing moderate to severe disease. Moderna is 94% effective in preventing symptomatic COVID infection, and Pfizer is 95% effective in preventing symptomatic COVID infection.

“I am mindful if we set up a site or add it to a site and people come, some people are fixated on Moderna or fixated on Pfizer, and we want people to make those choices,” DeSantis said, “but I hope those people understand there’s a lot to recommend from Johnson & Johnson because it’s one dose.”

As of Wednesday, DeSantis said about half of Florida’s 4.5 million seniors have been vaccinated with at least one dose. The governor expects the demand from seniors to soon soften.

“If the Pfizer doses increase as much as we think it will and the Johnson & Johnson arrive, then all of a sudden you are going to have a lot more options. Now we would be in a situation where you have hundreds of thousands of more doses potentially in Florida on a weekly basis, so that will make a really big difference,” he said.

Some counties are well on their way to vaccinating a majority of seniors. Broward and Palm Beach counties have vaccinated slightly more than 50% of their senior populations.

The governor said he recognized some seniors won’t want the vaccine and he expects a smaller percentage of younger people will want to be vaccinated.

“We are not mandating it for anybody, it’s going to be a personal choice,” he said.