TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — In his weekly update, Gov. Ron DeSantis reiterated his commitment to putting seniors first in the state of Florida as well as acknowledging the limited supply of COVID-19 vaccines from the federal government.
To begin his video, which was posted to his Twitter Saturday morning, he said that 70 percent of the state's total vaccinations have gone to seniors.
On Friday, Gov. DeSantis joined Fox News' Fox and Friends to help commemorate the state approaching one million vaccines to Florida seniors.
On the show, he claimed that with the vaccine being given to Henry Sayler, a WWII veteran from St. Petersburg, he was actually the one millionth senior to be vaccinated in Florida.
Hours later, the claim was walked back and the video update provided by Gov. DeSantis Saturday also said that they are approaching one million, but did not say if they have reached the number yet.
"Not only was Florida the first state in the nation to vaccinate more than 500,000 seniors, but we are rapidly approaching one million vaccines just to seniors," said Gov. DeSantis.
Florida continues to put #SeniorsFirst and is leading the nation in the vaccination of individuals 65 and older as we approach 1 million total seniors vaccinated. Watch my update from this week below ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/97fZ2BUODx
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) January 23, 2021
Gov. DeSantis said that as the state receives additional vaccines from the federal government, they will work to deploy them to Florida communities, but also acknowledged a limited supply.
"Although federal supply remains limited, we will continue to utilize the amount of vaccine the state does have to ensure it reaches our 4.5 million seniors as quickly and efficiently as possible," said Gov. DeSantis.
The governor closed the video by telling the state that "we continue to make great progress, and there is a light at the end of the tunnel."
