Publix, CVS to accept appointments for persons 50 and older

Prior to the planned expansion of vaccine admissions in Florida, Publix had already begun accepting appointments for anyone 50 years or older.

The grocery store chain began accepting the appointments Friday after Gov. Ron DeSantis announced he would sign an executive order that would entitle anyone 50 years and older to the vaccine during a news conference in Tallahassee.

[Read the full executive order here]

“As today’s scheduled meeting for appointments will be on Monday and Tuesday of next week, customers over the age of 50 can book their appointments from today,” a Publix spokesman said in a statement to News 6.

The online booking system opened at 07:00 on Friday. As of 2:40 p.m. on Friday, most appointments throughout the state were fully booked, including locations in each Central Florida county.

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Publix’s vaccination portal opens every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 07:00 at Publix.com/covidvaccine. Appointments must be made online.

All 730 drugstores in Publix, Florida offer the vaccine by appointment only.

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CVS accepts appointments on Monday for any Florida older than 50 years. Anyone interested in planning an appointment at CVS should sign up at this link.

Walgreens accepts Sunday appointments for any Florida older than 50 years. Anyone interested in planning an appointment at Walgreens should sign up at this link.

Winn-Dixie pharmacies also plan to make changes to suit the new requirements to be eligible.

“We are working with the State of Florida and the Department of Health in Florida to determine best practices and to implement changes to our current system to serve all eligible customers in this newly expanded age group,” said Kaley Shaffer, Southeastern Grocers, director of public relations, said in a statement. “We expect these changes to be implemented early next week in our process, and we ask our clients to be patient as we adapt to the evolving criteria for admission.”

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DeSantis said it expects to be eligible for vaccine for all shortly after expanding to 50 and older.

“I think the question was relatively modest, much more modest than at the end of December when we did the 65 And plus,” Desantis said. ‘So we think it makes sense and I think we’ll see how it goes next week, but I think we’ll definitely open it up to everyone, certainly before 1 May and, and maybe much sooner than that, stay that way. tuned in there. ”

The governor did not give a timeline for when the election would be available to all.

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