Seniors can get COVID-19 vaccines at Broward Health. Here’s how to get an appointment
UPDATE 12/30/2020: A day after announcing that COVID-19 vaccine appointments were available, Broward Health has shut down its appointment hotline. There are no more slots available. The hospital says it has appointments scheduled through February.
If you’re still looking for a place to get the vaccine, vaccination sites are set to open in Broward County the first week of January. Click here to learn more.
Read the original article below:
Broward Health will begin giving COVID-19 vaccines to people 65 and older Wednesday, and those interested can already begin scheduling an appointment.
“For months we’ve asked the public to hold on a little longer and follow safety measures such as masking and social distancing. The vaccine — a light at the end of the tunnel — was in sight,” said Aldo Calvo, medical director of ambulatory services at Broward Health. “Tomorrow, for so many of our community’s most vulnerable, that day is here.”
Priority is also being given to office staff of Broward Health’s credentialed physicians, Emergency Medical Services personnel and community healthcare providers who do not have access to the vaccine, as well as their office staff.
Do “snowbirds” qualify?
It’s complicated.
Just like at Mount Sinai Medical Center, Broward Health planned to require proof of local residency. However, Jared Moskowitz, director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management, told the Miami Herald on Tuesday that no residency requirement has been issued by the state. He said hospitals would be notified that proof of residency should not be a requirement for vaccine eligibility.
Anyone who is 65 and older or meets one of the other criteria and is interested in getting the free vaccine must call Broward Health’s Nurse Connect line at 954-759-7500 to be screened and scheduled for an appointment. Credentialed medical staff members should call their regional medical staff office to schedule an appointment.
On Tuesday afternoon, just a few hours after the hospital announced that they were accepting appointments, people were reporting that they couldn’t get through because the phone line was busy or kept disconnecting.
Broward Health told the Miami Herald they were experiencing technical issues because of the influx of phone calls and were working to fix it. The hospital’s current solution? Have patience and keep trying.
Miami Herald staff writer Ben Conarck contributed to this report.
This story was originally published December 29, 2020 at 12:25 PM.
