Florida to lower vaccination age to 40 starting Monday; open to all adults on April 5

Soon, all Floridians who are at least 18 years or older will be eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine.

First, those are at least 40 years of age will be able to receive the vaccine starting Monday, March 29, the governor announced on Twitter. Then, he said, on the following Monday, all who are least 18 years old will be eligible.

This week, recent data from the state health department showed a seven-day rolling average of hospitalizations for people 65 and older in Florida is 100 fewer now compared to the beginning of February.

"The reason for the declining hospitalization and death trend is because two-thirds of Florida's elderly population has been vaccinated," said Dr. Thomas Unnasch, an infectious disease researcher and public health professor at the University of South Florida.

READ: COVID-19 deaths, hospitalizations on the decline

On Monday, the vaccine eligibility age was lowered to 50. By Tuesday, slightly more than 5.2 million people had been at least partially vaccinated.

Vaccines produced by Pfizer and Moderna require two doses, while a Johnson & Johnson vaccine requires only one dose. More than 2.85 million people in Florida had completed two-dose series or had received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine as of Tuesday, according to the state Department of Health. About 2.35 million had received first doses of Pfizer or Moderna vaccines.

INFO: COVID-19 vaccine distribution information in Tampa Bay area counties

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