Walmart expands vaccine eligibility to all Florida teachers, daycare workers
Walmart is following federal guidelines for COVID-19 vaccinations and will vaccinate all teachers and daycare staff, no matter their age.
In Florida, only seniors 65 or older, law enforcement and teachers 50 or older, and those who are determined to be "medically vulnerable" by a physician can get vaccinated.
However, the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program was updated to include teachers and daycare staff after President Joe Biden announced a directive that all states prioritize school staff and childcare workers for COVID-19 vaccination.
RELATED: All Florida teachers, daycare workers now eligible to get COVID-19 vaccine at CVS
CVS updated its vaccine portal on Wednesday to reflect these changes. Walmart followed suit the following day.
Biden said his goal is for every pre-kindergarten through 12th-grade educator, school staff member, and childcare worker to receive at least one shot by the end of March.
Those eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine at Walmart are:
- Anyone 65 or older
- Healthcare workers
- Those who work in emergency medical services
- Law enforcement officers 50 or older
- Firefighters 50 or older
- Those between 16 and 64 with at least one high-risk medical condition as determined by a physician
- Educators (includes teachers, staff, and bus drivers)
- Staff of licensed child-care providers, including center-based and family care providers
To sign up for a dose, visit Walmart's website.
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More than 800,000 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine will be distributed this week to pharmacies to administer in a separate federally-run program, as the White House increasingly looks to the capacity of pharmacy chains like CVS and Walgreens to help speed the nation's mass vaccination campaign.
President Biden also said he expects the country will have enough vaccines available for all adults by the end of May, which is two months earlier than anticipated.
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