Manatee County Commission

Florida’s COVID-19 vaccine eligibility is growing as Governor Ron DeSantis amended a previous executive order, Monday, to expand vaccine access to teachers, firefighters and law enforcement officers 50 and older. Younger people with medical conditions that would make them extremely vulnerable to the virus can also now get the vaccine through physicians’ offices and pharmacies. Previously that demographic’s access to the vaccine was limited to hospitals.Florida expects to receive 175,000 doses of the newly FDA-approved single-dose Johnson and Johnson vaccine this week.

State health officials reported 7,087 new COVID-19 cases, Wednesday and 127 deaths. Governor Ron DeSantis says he’s expecting a surge in vaccine doses coming to Florida in the coming weeks and that teachers, firefighters and law enforcement officers 50 and older could be next in line to receive the vaccine. DeSantis says he’s also targeting rural counties with relatively low rates of seniors vaccinated such as DeSoto and Hardy and Glades Counties in Southwest Florida. Advocates in Sarasota are fighting to get more vaccine doses to people of color as just 1% of Blacks and 1.5% of Hispanics in the County have received the vaccine. The Manatee County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a complaint filed against Manatee County Commission Chairwoman Vanessa Baugh over alleged misuse of her position in cherry-picking who would receive vaccine doses at a state-run pop-up clinic last week in Lakewood Ranch. The Venice Fire Rescue Department is looking to expand its outreach through a state pilot program aimed at getting vaccines to eligible homebound residents.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is facing bipartisan criticism of playing politics with the COVID-19 vaccine rollout in Southwest Florida. The criticism stems from DeSantis’ recent selection of COVID-19 vaccine pop-up clinic sites in Charlotte and Manatee Counties.

State health officials reported 2,673 new COVID-19 cases, Tuesday, increasing the statewide total to 605,502 cases. The Florida Department of Health also reported 183 new coronavirus-related deaths, Aug. 25, bringing the statewide death toll to 10,717 fatalities since the beginning of the pandemic.The downturn in the number of COVID-19 tests being reported in Florida continues, even though public health experts say more testing is crucial to containing the virus.

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