Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, speaking from Jacksonville Monday, said that all residents and staff members at long-term care facilities in Florida will have been offered a COVID-19 vaccine by the end of January.
DeSantis gave an update on the state’s efforts to vaccinate seniors at River Garden Hebrew House for the Aged in Jacksonville Monday, where about 97% of residents and staff have been vaccinated.
DeSantis said that 22% of all seniors age 65 and up have been vaccinated in the state which is more than 1 million of all seniors. Almost 70% of all shots administered have gone to seniors, according to DeSantis.
“Florida continues to put #SeniorsFirst and is leading the nation in the vaccination of individuals 65 and older as we approach 1 million total seniors vaccinated,” DeSantis tweeted Saturday.
On Monday, DeSantis said that Florida was the first state to open ‘COVID Only’ nursing homes, with 23 throughout the state of Florida to help navigate the peak over the summer.
DeSantis also discussed Monday, the state’s extremely limited vaccine supply, saying they had administered between 300,000 and 450,000 doses in the first three weeks of January, but will only receive 226,100 doses between Monday and Tuesday.
“You’re going to see that there’s been shortages,” he said.