Florida Limits COVID-19 Vaccine to Permanent, Seasonal Residents

Only Florida residents and healthcare workers are eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine,  according to a state public health advisory issued Thursday. The move was motivated by scant supply and anecdotes of people using the popular tourist state to get inoculated. Dr. Scott A. Rivkees, Florida’s state surgeon general, signed the advisory prioritizing Floridians and healthcare workers in direct contact with patients.

The Tampa Bay Times says that this advisory reverses a previous policy of not restricting doses depending upon where a person lives, prompting out-of-state and foreign visitors coming to Florida to get shots because of its policy of offering doses to people over the age of 65.

According to Fox News, eligible adult residents need to provide copies of their driver license or proof of residency in order to get the COVID-19 vaccine. Seasonal residents, often referred to as ''snowbirds,'' are eligible if they can show proof of two forms of identification such as a deed, mortgage, monthly mortgage statement, monthly payment booklet or residential lease or rental agreement, or utility bill, among other approved documents.

Rivkees said that the state had an ''extremely limited'' vaccine availability. And Gov. Ron DeSantis told reporters that although the state inoculated over 400,000 people last week, ''This week we’re probably aren’t going to reach that simply because we’re not getting enough vaccine,'' according to Fox News.