Florida targets ‘vaccine tourists’

Proof of residency needed for shot

Florida will soon require proof of residency from those planning on receiving the COVID-19 vaccine in the state, governor ron desantis announced earlier this week.

“We’re only doing (vaccines) for Florida residents,” said desantis on Tuesday. “you’ve got to live here either full-time or at least parttime.”

This comes after a previous executive order signed by desantis that put anyone over the age of 65 at the front of the line for Florida’s vaccine rollout, regardless of nationality or where they live.

Since then, vaccine clinics in the state have seen long lines, with some seniors camping out in lawn chairs overnight to ensure they get a vaccination, ABC News reported.

It’s led to criticism from the public about seniors coming from outside the state to get vaccinated, known as “vaccine tourists,” prompting desantis to enact the new proof of residency policy.

From now on, people who plan on receiving the vaccine in Seminole county, just north of Orlando, will have to provide a Florida Id card or a utility bill before getting the shot, with other counties in the state to soon follow, according to ABC News.

Florida is one of the hardest hit u.s. states in terms of COVID-19 cases and deaths, reporting a total of 1.6 million coronavirus cases and 24,578 deaths to date, according to the state health department.

One of the out-of-state groups that have been repeatedly brought up as “vaccine tourists” are the so-called “snowbirds,” seniors from Canada and the northern united States, who spend time in Florida during the winter months.

Canada’s vaccine rollout has been relatively slow so far, with only 1 in 100 Canadians having been vaccinated as of last week, according to Bloomberg’s vaccine tracker. That puts Canada’s vaccination rate at a third of the u.s.’s and a quarter of the u.k.’s.

It’s led many Canadian seniors to take advantage of Florida’s policy allowing them to receive a vaccination even if they don’t live there.

The proof-of-residency policy may cut-down on the number of seniors coming to Florida solely to receive the vaccine, but Canadian “snowbirds” that already have roots in Florida will likely still be able to receive their shot.

After the policy was announced, state leaders were quick to clarify that anyone who owns a home in Florida, or even those who rent property in the state for part of the year, will be eligible to receive the vaccine, reported ABC News.

Florida had distributed 2.5 million vaccines as of Wednesday and administered approximately 1.2 million of them, according to the Centers for disease Control and Prevention.