Florida Gov. DeSantis on COVID-19 vaccine rollout: ‘We’re putting our seniors first’

close

Video

Florida Gov. DeSantis on COVID-19 vaccine distribution

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis says Henry Sayler is believed to be the one millionth senior vaccinated in the state.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis told "Fox & Friends" his state is prioritizing the senior population as the COVID-19 vaccine rollout continues.

DeSantis also discussed why he ordered the state’s National Guard to return home from Washington, D.C., after outrage over reported treatment of the troops at the nation’s capital.

NATIONAL GUARD SOLDIERS ORDERED HOME BY GOVERNORS AMID OUTRAGE OVER BEING MOVED TO CAPITOL PARKING GARAGE

GOV. RON DESANTIS: These folks are soldiers. They've served our country all around the world. They've served our state of Florida after natural disasters. They're serving right now, helping with vaccinating senior citizens. And they've been on the front lines of the COVID fight. They're soldiers. They're not Nancy Pelosi's servants.

This is a halfcocked mission at this point. And I think the appropriate thing is to bring them home.

We've done about 1.3 million reported vaccine shots, probably hundreds of thousands or more, because there's a reporting lag. Ninety-seven percent have been full-time Florida residents.

There's no vaccine tourism. Hospitals are not permitted to engage in vaccine tourism. If there's a one or two off or someone didn't follow the rules, then that's something we deal with. But this is, we're putting our seniors first, and we're putting our Florida seniors first.

We said seniors first. OK, this is something we need to focus on. The 65 and up population. There's young, healthy workers that are getting it in other states. God bless them, but I want to protect our vulnerable.

We've got sites in all 67 counties. We're working with pharmacies, we're working with hospitals. And, if you doubled my vaccine allotment next week, I would be able to do double the vaccines.

The federal government, when they get them, they send them. But I think we thought we'd be getting a little bit more by now. I'm getting about 266,000 a week. For example, Ainsley, last week, the full week, Monday through Sunday, we did 405,000 shots. And so I'm now doing more shots in a week than I'm getting replenished for. And so if we don't start to see increases in supply, then you will actually see fewer vaccines done on a daily basis.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP