Gov. DeSantis: You must live in Florida part-time to receive COVID-19 vaccine

22 Publix pharmacies to offer vaccines in Brevard County

Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday continued his mantra of putting seniors first in the rollout of the coronavirus vaccine. He says, so far, 700,000 seniors have received at least one dose of the vaccine.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Gov. Ron DeSantis is working on guidelines meant to stop COVID-19 vaccination "tourism" in Florida and several counties are following his lead.

Starting Wednesday, vaccine sites hosted by the County of Volusia and Florida Department of Health in Volusia County will require proof of Florida state residency, such as a State of Florida driver's license or a utility bill.

"During the registration process, individuals must self-certify that they are both 65 years of age or older and a resident of the state. Upon check-in at an event, individuals must be able to provide a state-issued driver’s license or identification card or a utility bill for a Florida property that matches the name on their ID," the county announced.

Seminole County is also implementing the requirement.

"You got to live here, you know, either full time or at least part-time," DeSantis said.

Appearing at two news conferences Tuesday, DeSantis said he wants to make sure the state’s COVID-19 vaccine supply is being directed to Florida residents.

"That can include people who live here half the year, but it’s not for people just visiting," the governor said during an appearance in Rockledge.

The effort came after media reports about people from outside the state coming to Florida to get vaccinated.

"The fact that you have people all over the world wanting to come to Florida, you can't say we aren't doing shots, because if we weren't doing shots, people wouldn't want to get it," the governor added.

DeSantis on Dec. 23 issued an executive order that added people 65 and older and health-care workers with direct patient care to the list of people who are eligible for COVID-19 vaccinations. With more than 4.4 million people in the state 65 and older, the announcement led to a crush of people demanding the vaccines.

Through Monday, Florida had provided 1,066,107 COVID-19 vaccinations, including more than 681,000 to people 65 and older, according to the state Department of Health.

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