Teachers, firefighters and law enforcement officers 50 and older may soon be offered COVID-19 vaccines, DeSantis says

HIALEAH, Fla. — Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Tuesday that he would soon like to start vaccinating some teachers, firefighters and law enforcement officers.

DeSantis said four federally supported sites across the state could handle these vaccinations along with people who are 65 and older.

“We’ll start probably 50 and up for the police and classroom teachers and for the fire department who haven’t gotten it,” he said. “Some of the fire have already gotten it.”

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It’s not clear when this would begin.

The president of the Police Benevolent Association said the problem is that it doesn’t apply to most of its officers since only 20% of their membership is over age 50.

The Florida Education Association said they didn’t know their numbers, but said the plan doesn’t go far enough to protect teachers.

The federally supported vaccine site in Orange County opens next Wednesday. It will be at Valencia College’s west campus on Kirkman Road.

DeSantis also announced 15 CVS locations will start administering the vaccine.

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Two of the locations will be in Polk County, one in Flagler County and one in Volusia County.

DeSantis said each store will administer 100 shots per day.

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So far, 2.1 million seniors have been vaccinated, according to DeSantis.

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Cox Media Group