Gov. DeSantis Bucks President Joe Biden's COVID-19 Vaccine Plan

ACROSS FLORIDA — Gov. Ron DeSantis bucked President Joe Biden's vaccine distribution plan Tuesday in front of reporters. He called it a "big mistake."

Biden wants the Federal Emergency Management Agency to establish 100 federally supported vaccination centers across the nation by the end of February. The new president said he will activate FEMA and the National Guard, and rely on pharmacies to help ramp up vaccine distribution, WESH reported.

“I saw some of this stuff Biden’s putting out, that he’s going to create these FEMA camps, I can tell you, that’s not necessary in Florida,” DeSantis said. “All we need is more vaccine. Just get us more vaccine.”

“The only thing the federal government should focus on right now is increasing shipments.”

DeSantis said the states should be in charge of vaccinating residents, like they did under the Trump administration’s plan.

As of Wednesday morning, 1.12 million Floridians have been vaccinated, the state said.

The United States passed the 400,000 mark for coronavirus deaths on Tuesday. While more than 31 million vaccine doses have been sent to states, less than half of the doses have been administered, USA Today reported.

Biden has vowed to have 100 million doses of vaccine administered in his first 100 days in office.

Florida's positive cases of coronavirus increased by 11,914 from Tuesday to Wednesday, the Florida Department of Health reported. As of Wednesday, the total number of positive cases reported statewide since last March is 1,601,011. Coronavirus-related deaths are at 24,965 and hospitalizations are at 68,932.

The state of Florida has a partnership with Publix pharmacies that are administering the vaccines to people 65 and older. DeSantis announced on Wednesday via Twitter that 67 Publix locations in Palm Beach County will offer the vaccines starting Thursday.

For the full list of Publix locations that offer the vaccine, visit Publix Pharmacies.

The governor tweeted the nearly 65 percent of the state's vaccinations have been distributed to people 65 and older. The Florida Department of Health reported that 1,122,405 people have been vaccinated for COVID-19 as of Wed. A list of demographics by the FDOH is provided below:

• 16-24 years of age; 18,948 vaccinated
• 25-34 years of age; 70,837 vaccinated
• 35-44 years of age; 86,016 vaccinated
• 45-54 years of age; 99,449 vaccinated
• 55-64 years of age; 119,987 vaccinated
• 65-74 years of age; 401,098 vaccinated
• 75-84 years of age; 230,354 vaccinated
• 85 and above; 95,716 vaccinated

According to FDOH, Pinellas County has 55,241 positive cases; Hillsborough has 94,012 cases; Polk has 46,486 cases; Pasco has 25,367 cases; Sarasota has 23,037 cases; Manatee has 26,602 cases; and Dade has 350,252 cases.