More eligible to receive vaccine

Posted on March 3, 2021

The State of Florida has expanded the criteria as to who is eligible to receive the coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine, adding school employees and first responders ages 50 and older, as well as Florida residents deemed “extremely vulnerable” to the disease by their physician.

In an executive order, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis officially expanded the eligible populations to include:
• Long-term care facility residents and staff;
• Persons 65 years of age and older;
• Health care personnel with direct patient contact;
• K-12 school employees 50 years of age and older;
• Sworn law enforcement officers 50 years of age and older; and
• Firefighters 50 years of age and older.

According to the Florida Department of Health in Taylor County (DOH-Taylor), people determined by a physician to be extremely vulnerable to COVID-19 can have their physician fax the documentation to DOH-Taylor at (850) 584-7335, or the documentation can be provided in person at the time of the vaccination.

“Documentation must include full name, date of birth and phone number until a form prescribed by the Florida Department of Health is available,” DOH-Taylor officials said. “If documentation is faxed, DOH-Taylor will contact you to set the appointment.”

Those who meet any of the state’s criteria can call (850) 584-5087 to schedule their appointment. If you physician is providing documentation directly to DOH-Taylor, you will be contacted as soon as it is received.

To date, 3,012 people in Taylor County have received at least one dose of the vaccine, including 1,607 people who have completed the two-dose regimen.

Of the people in Taylor County who have received at least one dose, 2,397 were age 65 or older, which accounts for nearly 53% of the estimated 4,529 seniors living in county. The county remains above the state senior vaccination mark, which is at 51.3%.

Last week, 218 Taylor County received a dose of the vaccine on Wednesday, Feb. 24, with another 92 on Friday, Feb. 26, according to the daily DOH vaccine report available online.

As for new COVID-19 cases in the county, there were 32 cases reported in the week ending Monday, March 1, as well as 27 cases the week before.

This brings the total number of reported cases in Taylor County since the start of the outbreak to 2,645, which have resulted in 42 deaths.

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