Emphasizing that his focus remains on Florida’s elderly population, Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday said teachers and school staff should not expect to be prioritized for vaccination against COVID-19 — at least for now.

The governor’s comments came as a new semester kicked off in most Florida school districts, leaving many school employees wondering if they will be among the groups at the top of the state’s priority list in the early stages of the COVID-19 vaccination rollout.

Gov. Ron DeSantis, dealing with a frantic demand for COVID-19 vaccinations across the state, promised Monday that he would strip allotments from hospitals that don’t use them quickly enough and shift the doses to other health-care providers. Appearing at an Orlando Health hospital in Seminole County, DeSantis outlined several other steps the state plans to […]

Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried on Wednesday called on Gov. Ron DeSantis to mobilize the National Guard to help distribute COVID-19 vaccines.

In a letter to DeSantis, Fried said distribution has been characterized in media reports as “very chaotic” and that there is a lack of “clear direction” for health-care professionals on vaccination procedures.

Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration is relying on Florida hospitals to provide COVID-19 vaccinations to health care workers, seniors and at-risk populations in the communities the hospitals serve.

It’s a task that some hospitals fear could be impossible given the state’s large senior population.

More than 122,000 Floridians received COVID-19 vaccinations during the first two weeks that the long-awaited shots were available, according to numbers posted Monday on the Florida Department of Health website.

The first wave of COVID-19 vaccinations in Florida went primarily to people under age 65, as Gov. Ron DeSantis says the state is pivoting to give the vast majority of shots to seniors due to their increased risk of illness and death from the coronavirus.

Florida is receiving a shipment of about 120,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses from Pfizer this week and will get another 360,000-plus doses of a vaccine from Moderna, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Monday.

The second shipment of the Pfizer vaccine will come days after DeSantis announced what was expected to be a week-long delay in the new supply.