Bilirakis Plans to Put Veterans First in Vaccine Rollout

Bilirakis Plans to Put Veterans First in Vaccine Rollout

VA needs to be fixed

Jim McCool
Jim McCool
|
March 2, 2021

Throughout the new COVID vaccine rollout, many states are still working out who gets the vaccine first.  Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) at the State of the State Address today reaffirmed his belief that seniors and first responders come first.

However, the Veteran's Affairs Office has limited their first priority vaccine recipients to vets aged 65-74.  This sounds great on the surface, but what about vets aged 75 +?  These are the men who fought in WWII, Korea, and Vietnam, so why stop at 74?

VA Offices across the country also have not been consistent with their policy as some are allowing ONLY 75+ or everyone 65+.

Luckily, Florida Representative Gus Bilirakis (R), noticed this unjust policy and wants to take action.

The Floridian sat down with Bilirakis last weekend, at CPAC in Orlando, where we asked him about this inconsistency, "I think all vets should be vaccinated", said Bilirakis, "with 65 and over being prioritized."

Bilirakis also has a bone to pick with House Democrats, "Democrats in the House want to put illegal immigrants in the same category as American citizens and legal residence.

Furthermore, Bilirakis told the Floridian that he plans to check with the Governor's office to see if they will vaccinate all vets regardless of federal VA standards, and consulting with the Chairman and ranking member of the Veterans Affairs Committee.

 

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Jim McCool

Jim McCool

Jim is a graduate of Florida State University where he studied Political Science, Religion and Criminology. He has been a reporter for the Floridian since January of 2021 and will start law school in 2024.

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