TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Gov. Ron DeSantis is reminding Floridians that the state is committed to the two-dose regimen when it comes to the COVID-19 vaccine so they should know if they get the first shot, they need to plan for the second shot as well.
DeSantis issued a statement Thursday after a request from President Donald Trump’s administration to no longer hold back doses in each vaccine shipment to be used for the second shot. Instead, all doses would be made available at the time they’re received and the second dose would be given using shots that are received around that time.
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The governor has also made comments about the U.K. delaying booster shots in order to give more citizens the first dose.
“While there is talk at the federal level regarding how to distribute vaccine doses and whether booster shots should be ‘held back,’ Florida is committed to the two-dose regimen for both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. One dose seems to provide some protection, but the 95% efficiency has only been shown to be attained by taking the booster shot. This means that while the manner of distribution may change, the necessity of the booster shot will not. Florida wants all seniors to receive booster shots at the appropriate time,” DeSantis said in a statement.
Speaking outside of a Naples Publix on Wednesday, he explained how the booster shots have been handled in recent weeks.
“So, so far what they’ve done if we got 100,000 Pfizer, that means they’re holding 100,000 Pfizer for the booster shot. Some people are saying, just get it, because we’re gonna continue to get more production,” DeSantis said.
State vaccination records show that as of Friday, 849,317 people across Florida have been vaccinated. Of those, 79,552 have completed the series and 40,661 are overdue for their booster shot.