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DeSantis: Some teachers, law enforcement will soon be eligible for a vaccine

By FOX 35 News Staff
Updated  February 23, 2021 12:49pm EST
Coronavirus
FOX 35 Orlando

Gov. DeSantis says some teachers and law enforcement will soon be able to get the vaccine

The Governor said while speaking in South Florida that he would like the four new federal vaccine sites to serve teachers and law enforcement 50 years of age or older.

HIALEAH, Fla. - Teachers and law enforcement under a new age range will soon be able to get a COVID-19 vaccine in Florida.

Governor Ron DeSantis spoke in Hialeah, Florida on Tuesday morning.

One of the things he spoke about was vaccinating teachers and law enforcement. He revealed that some of them will soon be able to get vaccinated at the federal vaccination sites opening soon.

"We want that for 65 and up but we also want that to open for any law enforcement, teacher, I think we'll start age 50 and above," the Governor explained.

RELATED: Federal COVID-19 vaccination sites coming to Florida, including Orlando

The State of Florida is getting four federally-supported COVID-19 vaccination sites in Miami, Orlando, Tampa, and Jacksonville. 

The sites are:

  • Tampa Greyhound Track: 755 E. Waters Ave.Tampa, FL, 33604
  • Valencia College – West Campus: 1800 S. Kirkman RoadOrlando, FL, 32811
  • Gateway Mall: 5200 Norwood AveJacksonville, FL, 32208
  • Miami Dade Community College (North Campus): 11380 NW 27th Ave.Miami, FL, 33167

Officials said each site will administer about 2,000 vaccines per day. They will also have two smaller, mobile satellite sites that will each conduct about 500 vaccinations per day in underserved areas. 

RELATED: County-by-County: How to get the COVID-19 vaccine in Central Florida

These sites are opening through a partnership between the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), U.S. Department of Defense, the Florida Department of Health, Florida Division of Emergency Management, and Florida National Guard.

Governor Ron DeSantis said that the Miami-Dade location is expected to open sometime next week. He said that those 65 and up are eligible for a vaccine, in addition to law enforcement officers and teachers 50 and above. 

He is hopeful as more vaccines come in that this could move quickly, citing that "as we get into approval for the Johnson and Johnson vaccine and as Pfizer increases its production -- we still have seniors to do, that's still the priority, but we can take some and really knock out a lot of these folks potentially pretty quickly."

RELATED: CDC: If you get this side effect from the 1st COVID-19 vaccine dose, don’t get the 2nd dose

For now, law enforcement officers and teachers 50 and above can only receive the vaccine at the federal vaccination sites. Governor DeSantis said that as more vaccines come in, this could change.

He also said at least 50 percent of the state’s 4 million residents who are 65 or older have been vaccinated, which is why Florida can soon start inoculating other groups. He said the number of residents currently ill with COVID-19 and hospitalized have continued to fall.

Almost 2 million Floridians have gotten the disease and more than 30,000 have died since it was first detected almost a year ago. 

To preregister with the statewide system, which the federal vaccination sites will use, visit myvaccine.fl.gov.

Tune in to FOX 35 Orlando for the latest Central Florida news.