Florida Gov applauded for seniors-first vax stance: 'I am not the priority; they're the priority'

Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis drew applause when he said he wouldn't take the COVID-19 vaccine until senior citizens have gotten immunized.

"Have you been vaccinated?" a reporter asked following the governor's visit to a health care site at Kings Point in Delray Beach while three seniors received their Moderna vaccine

"What I've said is, I'm willing to take it, but I am not the priority; they're the priority," DeSantis said, pointing to the senior citizens. "I'm under 45. And so, people under 45 are not gonna be first in line for this."

"And so when it's my turn, I will take it, but this is who I want to be vaccinated," he said. "I want my parents, our grandparents to be able to get it. Granted, I'm an elected official, but whoop-de-do. At the end of the day, let's focus where the risk is."

Some in the small crowd then applauded.

DeSantis last week issued an executive order that rejected guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and ordered that people 65 and older can go to the front of the line for the vaccine, even ahead of essential workers.

"There was a recommendation from the CDC that you [vaccinate] so-called essential workers. What's essential?" DeSantis said, according to WPTV. "There's a lot of people who work really hard that the CDC doesn't consider essential, but their family considers them essential. I consider them essential."

"Supply is limited," DeSantis said at the event. "We don’t have enough vaccines for all four-million-plus senior citizens in Florida."

DeSantis said the CDC recommendation puts young, healthy people ahead of senior citizens. "We're not going to be putting young people ahead of our elderly population," he said. "If you have somebody that works for a grocery store or food services that may be 22, they would have priority over someone who is 73."

Some senior citizens in Florida spent the night camped out in line for first-come-first-served shots, according to reports on Wednesday.

"In the line for vaccines, seniors 65 and over were together with hope, folding chairs, snacks and quiet conversations. Many people had similar stories to share," according to WINK News. 

"A friend of mine that died from the virus, he was from where I came from in Nevada," Kit Kerkesner told WINK. "That was a horrible way to learn, 'Oh, yeah, this virus is for real.'"

"This is worth it," said 80-year-old Aaron Stern, who said he'd never camped out on a sidewalk. "The opportunity to feel safe again and to be able to go out is wonderful."