Two locations in South Florida will be among different worship centers across the state that will begin providing the COVID vaccine to the elderly.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced the locations in Lynn Haven, just outside Panama City, on Sunday. Facilities include locations in Hollywood at the Koinonia Worship Center as well as a location in Fort Lauderdale at the New Mount Olive Baptist Church.
Other locations across the state include Lynn Haven, Tallahassee, Jacksonville, Tampa and St. Louis. Lucie. DeSantis added that the locations aim to give the vaccine to those in predominantly black communities across the state.
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“You see some of these big hospitals are starting to expand a lot of vaccinations, and we appreciate that,” DeSantis said as he described the different ways the state is trying to vaccinate residents.
The state emergency department said Saturday it expects Florida to receive an additional 250,000 doses of coronavirus vaccines within the next week. The state has so far received more than 1.2 million doses.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said the state now averages 40,000 shots a day, and is willing to increase the number when the state receives more supplies from the federal government.
“The demand for the vaccine is high, and we know there is no time to waste when it comes to shots in the arms,” DeSantis said in a recorded statement released Saturday.
The state has made vaccinations available to health care workers, staff and residents at long-term care facilities and nursing homes, and the elderly 65 years and older.
“We have more than 4.5 million elderly people in the state and prioritizing them for the vaccine is the most effective tool to fight the pandemic,” DeSantis said.