Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis Says Willing to Take Vaccine ‘But I Am Not the Priority’

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks before the arrival of U.S. President Donald Trump for his campaign event at Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport in Opa Locka, Florida, on Nov. 1, 2020. Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Florida’s Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis told reporters on Dec. 30 that he is willing to take the vaccine for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) virus but has not done so because he is not in one of the groups prioritized to received the vaccine first.

“I’m willing to take it, but I am not the priority. They’re the priority. I’m under 45. So the people under 45 are not going to be first in line for this. So when it’s my turn, I will take it. But this is who I want to be vaccinated. I want my parents, our grandparents to be able to get it. And, you know, granted, I’m an elected official but whoop-de-do. At the end of the day, let’s focus where the risk is,” DeSantis said.

A number of prominent politicians have taken the vaccine for the CCP virus, commonly known as the coronavirus. Former Vice President Joe Biden received the vaccine on Dec. 21.

“We owe these folks a lot. The scientists and the people who put this together, the frontline workers, the people who were the ones that did the clinical work,” Biden said as he received a shot.

Biden said he is “doing this to demonstrate that people should be prepared when it’s available to take the vaccine,” adding, “There is nothing to worry about.”

The former vice president was accompanied by his wife, Jill Biden, who also received her first dose of the vaccine.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) gets the COVID-19 vaccine in Washington on Dec. 18, 2020. Ken Cedeno/Pool via AP

Other political leaders such as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Vice President Mike Pence, and others have received the vaccine. It’s not clear if and when President Donald Trump will receive the vaccine.

“I didn’t feel a thing,” Pence said after receiving the Pfizer vaccine at the Walter Reed National Medical Center in Maryland. “Well done.”

Trump administration officials had said they are projecting that 20 million people will be vaccinated against COVID-19, the disease caused by the CCP virus, by the end of the year. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 11.4 million doses have been distributed as of Dec. 28 and 2.1 million have been administered.

Jack Phillips and Zachary Stieber contributed to this report.