DeSantis Denies Any Wrongdoing Over Vaccine Partnership With Publix

Axios: Florida's DeSantis, "60 Minutes" Clash Over COVID Vaccine Rollout 
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) announced a COVID-19 vaccine distribution partnership with Publix grocery stores weeks after the company gave $100,000 to his PAC, CBS' "60 Minutes" reported Sunday, citing campaign finance records. DeSantis and Publix deny any wrongdoing. DeSantis has been criticized for directing vaccines toward wealthy communities, with some who benefitted from the vaccine pop-ups also donating to the governor's political action committee, per Axios' Tampa Bay reporter Ben Montgomery. (4/4)

Health News Florida: Florida FEMA Sites To Offer Only J&J Vaccine Beginning Tuesday 
Beginning Tuesday, Florida’s federally supported COVID-19 vaccination sites will provide only the one-dose Johnson & Johnson shots. “The state has been able to make this change as it receives an increased allocation of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine this week,” the state’s Division of Emergency Management announced Friday. (Mayer, 4/4)

Tampa Bay Times: Florida’s Vaccine Eligibility Age Drops To 16 Today. Here’s What To Know.
If you’re 16 or older, you now qualify for a coronavirus vaccine in Florida as the state’s age for shots drops again, making it the largest widening of eligibility so far. People as young as 16 can get the vaccine produced by Pfizer-BioNTech. Those by Moderna and Johnson & Johnson have not been approved for anyone under 18. (Reeves, 4/5)

And more states relax their eligibility rules —

AP: State Expands Eligibility For Coronavirus Vaccine This Week
All Delawareans above the age of 16 will soon become eligible to sign up for the coronavirus vaccine. The Delaware State News reports that the expanded eligibility begins on Tuesday. People can sign up for the state’s waiting list at vaccinerequest.delaware.gov. (4/4)

AP: Vermont Opening COVID-19 Vaccines To Those 40 And Older
Vermonters age 40 and over are now eligible to make appointments to be vaccinated against the virus that causes COVID-19. The Vermont Health Department website will begin accepting appointments at 8:15 a.m. Monday. A week later, the age limit drops to age 30 and over. On April 19, all adult Vermonters will be eligible to be vaccinated. (4/5)

KHN: Vermont Is 1st State To Give Blacks And Other Minority Residents Vaccine Priority 
States have tried with limited success to get covid vaccines to people of color, who have been disproportionately killed and hospitalized by the virus. Starting Thursday, Vermont explicitly gave Black adults and people from other minority communities priority status for vaccinations. Although other states have made efforts to get vaccine to people of color, Vermont is the first to offer them priority status, said Jen Kates, director of global health and HIV policy at KFF. (KHN is an editorially independent program of KFF.) All Black, Indigenous residents and other people of color who are permanent Vermont residents and 16 or older are eligible for the vaccine. (Galewitz, 4/5)

Las Vegas Review-Journal: Vaccine Appointments Available For Age 16 And Up In Nevada
Appointments are open for Nevadans age 16 and up to schedule the COVID-19 vaccine before official expansion Monday. The expansion means that 2.47 million will be eligible to receive the vaccine. As of Friday, 33.9 percent of that population has received at least one dose of the vaccine, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau and Department of Health and Human Services. State officials say they are anticipating a big response to the expansion and expect appointments to be grabbed up quickly. As a result, not everyone will be able to immediately get a shot, they say. (Newberg, 4/4)

In other news on the vaccine rollout —

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee Vaccine Appointment Website Sending People To Dead End
On Friday, the last business day before the state throws open the doors for COVID-19 vaccinations, the Milwaukee Health Department's sign up webpage was directing those trying to make an appointment to a dead end. City spokesman Jeff Fleming said there were some interface issues between the city and the state, and problems were expected to be fixed by 3:30 p.m. Friday. But as of 5 p.m. it was not working. The city has been promoting its website Milwaukee.gov/CovidVax as the place to sign up for appointments at the downtown Wisconsin Center. (Dirr, 4/2)

The New York Times: The Once-Battered Navajo Nation Has Gained Control Of The Virus, For Now.
The Navajo Nation, which once had one of the worst coronavirus case rates in the United States, recently reached an extraordinary milestone: zero cases and zero deaths in a 24-hour period. The nation, which has over 300,000 enrolled members, is averaging about 11 new cases a day, far below its peak of 250 in late November, according to the latest data from the Navajo Department of Health. (Delkic and Ngo, 4/5)

KHN: Montana Sticks To Its Patchwork Covid Vaccine Rollout As Eligibility Expands 
Montana’s covid-19 vaccine distribution is among the most efficient in the nation, but closer examination reveals a patchwork of systems among counties and tribal governments that will be put to the test as the state opens vaccine eligibility to all people 16 and older starting this month. KHN, Montana Free Press and the University of Montana School of Journalism surveyed all 56 counties and eight tribal governments to find out how vaccine distribution has worked over the past four months and what residents might expect when the floodgates open. (Houghton, 4/5)

Bangor Daily News: Northern Light Has Turned Bangor’s Cross Center Into A Well-Oiled Vaccination Machine
While Mainers hear stories from across the country of people waiting hours to get their shots, few who get vaccinated at the Cross Center have had a negative thing to say. The average time from door to door is less than 35 minutes, including a 15-minute monitoring period after patients receive the shot, said Dr. James Jarvis, who leads Northern Light’s COVID-19 response. “It’s all about efficiency,” Jarvis said. “That’s the only way you can move people through the line.” (Marino Jr., 4/5)

Stateline: Vaccinating The Vulnerable One Church At A Time
MedStar Mobile Healthcare, a Fort Worth, Texas, regional emergency medical service, hit what leaders there considered a home run recently, vaccinating 757 people in a single day at Mount Olive Missionary Baptist Church, a predominantly Black church on the city’s east side. Meanwhile, a mass vaccination clinic at Texas Motor Speedway in north Fort Worth used 16 drive-thru lanes to vaccinate 10,000 residents per day. (Vestal, 4/2)