Over 5 Million COVID-19 Vaccine Doses Administered In Florida

Daytona Beach, FL - As eligibility requirements change, the number of vaccinated individuals climbs statewide, leading Florida to hit a new milestone of 5 million administered doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. Data released by the Florida Department of Health on Thursday (March 4th) indicates that health officials have administered 5,074,996 doses to 3,258,997 individuals across the state. Of those nearly 3.26 million individuals, about 1.442 million have received their first dose, while almost 1.816 million have received both doses. Seniors over the age of 65 remain the most-vaccinated group out of all age groups in the state with almost 2.5 million vaccinated individuals. Locally, health officials Volusia County has administered 82,538 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, with 35,490 individuals who received their first dose and 47,048 who have received their second dose. In Flagler, 24,451 have been vaccinated. Of those nearly 25,000 people, 12,873  received their first dose and 11,578  received their second dose. Eligibility requirements have also changed in the last couple of months throughout the state. After primarily focusing on seniors since December, Governor Ron DeSantis announced at the beginning of March that people under the age of 65 who were deemed "extremely vulnerable" to COVID-19 were now eligible to receive the vaccine. Shortly after that change, the state also announced that law enforcement officers, firefighters, teachers and K-12 staff were eligible to receive the vaccine. That eventually changed after DeSantis confirmed that all Florida teachers were added to the list of eligible groups.