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Starting April 5, Anyone Over 18 Years Old Can Get The COVID-19 Vaccine In Florida

Governor Ron DeSantis announces expanded vaccine eligibility. Photo: Facebook / DeSantis
Governor Ron DeSantis announces expanded vaccine eligibility. Photo: Facebook / DeSantis

Governor Ron DeSantis is expanding COVID-19 vaccine eligibility. Starting Monday, anyone over 40 years of age will be eligible for the vaccine. 

Staring the following week, April 5, DeSantis said anyone over the age of 18 will be eligible for the vaccine. 

He says the success of his “Senior First” plan paved the way for the expansion of eligibility.

“We've now vaccinated over 70 percent ff the roughly 4.4 million seniors living in the state. We've also made great progress on those aged 60 to 64, and on those age 50 and older, and we're ready to take this step,” he said.

County leaders have already begun to make the vaccine available to people under 50. Orange County opened up appointments to people aged 40-plus this week, and Miami-Dade said it will drop the eligibility age to 40 next week. 

According to data from the state, more than 2.3 Floridians received their first dose of the vaccine, and around 2.8 Floridians received a full vaccination dose. 

Brendan Byrne is Central Florida Public Media's Assistant News Director, managing the day-to-day operations of the newsroom, editing daily news stories, and managing the organization's internship program. Byrne also hosts Central Florida Public Media's weekly radio show and podcast "Are We There Yet?" which explores human space exploration, and the weekly news roundup podcast "The Wrap."