Where can seniors get the COVID-19 vaccine in South Florida? Here’s the growing list
People 65 and older can now get the COVID-19 vaccine in South Florida, although finding a place that is offering appointments can be difficult, frustrating and tedious.
Some hospitals are offering vaccines to seniors, and drive-thru vaccination sites have also opened in Broward and Miami-Dade counties. But options in South Florida are still limited.
Vaccines haven’t arrived to area Publix stores yet, unlike in other parts of the state. A few vaccination sites have opened in Miami-Dade and there are no sites in Monroe although leaders hope that will change soon.
For now, that means many seniors will have to try and get an appointment with a hospital distributing the vaccine or a drive-thru site in Broward County.
It can be difficult keeping track of where vaccines are available in South Florida and how you can get an appointment. Here’s a list of places offering the vaccines. It will continue to be updated.
And remember, no one should charge you for the vaccine (taxpayers are paying the bill) and there is no county residency requirement, which means a Miami-Dade resident can get the vaccine in Broward or vice versa. You will be asked to show proof of Florida residency.
Where can people 65 and older get the COVID-19 vaccine in Miami-Dade?
▪ Miami-Dade County has a website, miamidade.gov/vaccine, where it plans to post updates on where seniors, and eventually the rest of the general public, can find and schedule COVID-19 vaccination appointments.
The county also schedules appointments through the website for vaccination sites including Zoo Miami, Tropical Park, at the Baptist hospital system; or facilities run by the state’s Department of Health.
▪ Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach is no longer booking appointments and has canceled all first-dose appointments because of supply constraints. Second-dose appointments are not affected. To check for updates, visit msmc.com/coronavirus-update/
▪ Leon Medical Centers are scheduling vaccination appointments for seniors 65 and older. Those who seek care at Leon should call customer service at 305-642-5366 to make an appointment. If you need transportation, let the operator know so they can also schedule a driver to pick you up. Leon will continue to offer appointments until it runs out of vaccines.
▪ Pasteur and Wellmax Medical Centers are hoping to offer COVID-19 vaccines soon to seniors, including non-members. Both clinics are still waiting to receive vaccines.
▪ Jackson Health System, the county’s public hospital network, has launched an online portal for people 65 and older to schedule vaccine appointments. To check for available appointments, visit https://jhsmiami.org/comvac/.
▪ Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens is providing vaccinations by appointment to seniors and front-line healthcare workers. Appointments filled up quickly. Call 888-499-0840 or the TTY line at 888-256-8918 and if appointments are full, you can sign up for an update on when slots are open again.
▪ Marlins Park in Miami, a popular COVID-19 testing site, also has vaccines. For now, there is no municipal residency requirement, which means you do not need to live within the city limits to be vaccinated. Miami Mayor Francis Suarez wants to change that. For now, you just need to show proof of Florida residency. To schedule an appointment, call 888-499-0840. The number for the hearing impaired is 888-256-8918.
▪ Florida International University has applied to be a vaccination site. It began vaccinating its faculty and staff 65 and older as well as university healthcare workers with direct patient contact at its main campus off Southwest Eighth Street and through local healthcare providers, including Jackson Health System and Baptist Health of South Florida.
▪ Miami Dade College has secured appointments for its employees 65 and older through Jackson Health System. It is also in talks with Miami-Dade County, Baptist Health of South Florida and its Miami Cancer Institute on various partnerships. One of the possibilities being discussed includes turning MDC locations into vaccination sites.
▪ The University of Miami Health System is giving the vaccine to front-line healthcare workers and support staff, including trainees, who care for or work in close proximity to COVID-19 patients. It is also giving vaccinations to UHealth patients 65 and older by appointment only. It is not scheduling first-dose COVID-19 vaccine appointments anymore because of supply constraints. Second dose appointments are not affected. For updates, check https://umiamihealth.org/coronavirus/covid-19-vaccine
▪ Baptist Health, one of the county’s largest private hospitals, is no longer booking appointments and has canceled all first-dose appointments from Jan. 20 and beyond because of supply constraints. Second dose appointments are not affected. To check for updates, visit Baptisthealth.net/vaccine.
▪ Miami-Dade County has also begun contacting homebound seniors age 65 and older who live in county facilities or receive county services to offer vaccination appointments.
Where to get the COVID-19 vaccine in Broward?
▪ Broward Health, the hospital network, has all of its vaccination appointments full through February. However, it is working to schedule appointments at Fort Lauderdale’s Inter Miami CF Stadium. More on that below:
Fort Lauderdale’s Inter Miami CF Stadium on Tuesday will become a COVID-19 vaccination site. Seniors 65 and older, office staff of Broward Health-credentialed physicians and other healthcare providers and their office staff members can request an appointment online at BrowardHealth.org and a Broward Health scheduler will then respond to finish the appointment booking.
Memorial Healthcare System has COVID-19 vaccines available for senior citizens again. The hospital is now offering Moderna vaccines. Previously, it was giving out Pfizer-BioNTech. appointments can be made at the MyChart portal, https://mychart.mhs.net for current Memorial Healthcare patients. Others will have to call 954-276-4340.
Appointments made with Memorial will be for one of the following locations:
▪ The Memorial Regional Conference Center, 3501 Johnson St. in Hollywood, noon to 7:30 p.m. Mondays, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Tuesday through Friday.
▪ Memorial Specialty Pharmacy, 9581 Premier Parkway, in Miramar, 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
▪ The Florida Department of Health in Broward County has changed its scheduling process. Instead of requesting an appointment online, front-line healthcare workers and seniors 65 and older can now call 866-201-6313. The number for the hearing impaired is 833-476-1526.
Appointments are available at the numbers above for the following locations:
Tradewinds Park, 3600 W. Sample Rd., Coconut Creek
Vista View Park, 4001 SW 142nd Ave., Davie
Markham Park & Target Range, 16001 W. State Road 84 in Sunrise
Snyder Park, 3299 SW Fourth Ave., is set to open Tuesday.
Central Broward Park and Broward County Stadium, 3700 NW 11th Pl. in Lauderhill.
Coral Square Mall in Coral Springs.
▪ All Cleveland Clinic Florida locations, including its Weston campus, have run out of vaccination appointments for now. Cleveland Clinic said it will resume scheduling appointments through its website for current patients once it gets more doses. To check for slots, visit https://my.clevelandclinic.org/landing/covid-19-vaccine/florida
How to get the COVID-19 vaccine in the Florida Keys?
There is a delay in the Florida Department of Health in Monroe County’s website and call center for vaccine registration. Officials earlier this month said it was because of the state’s “unanticipated lag” in delivering additional COVID-19 vaccines to the Keys.
So far, the doses the health department received prior to the delivery lag have been used to vaccinate healthcare workers and people 65 and older with special needs by appointment-only. People in long-term facilities and nursing homes in Monroe are also being vaccinated by CVS and Walgreens.
For seniors in the general population, it’s still a waiting game on when they’ll be able to schedule their vaccination appointment.
However, you can try your luck at the Publix stores in Islamorada and Key West. For availability, check publix.com/covid-vaccine/florida.
This article will be updated.
This story was originally published January 6, 2021 at 11:12 AM.
