People 65 and older can soon get a COVID vaccine at a Broward drive-thru. Here’s how
UPDATE 1/4/2021: The Florida Department of Health in Broward County is no longer accepting vaccine appointments. All of the slots are full for now. Click here to learn more.
Original article below:
Broward County will begin giving COVID-19 vaccines to people 65 and older, and those interested can already begin scheduling an appointment.
“We are excited about the opportunity to begin vaccinating our senior population, who are disproportionately affected by COVID-19, as we continue to work every day to protect our community during this pandemic,” said Dr. Paula Thaqi, director of the Florida Department of Health in Broward County.
The free vaccines will be available starting Sunday at drive-thru vaccination sites. Appointments are required and can be made online at browardcovidvaccine.com though the website has crashed throughout the day.
Anyone who gets the first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine at one of these sites must also get their second dose 21 days later in Broward County.
Just hours after the website to schedule vaccine appointments went live Wednesday morning, it crashed. People began reporting errors such as “your connection is not private,” “SORRY!” and “404 Not Found.” Others reported that the website would not load.
On Wednesday afternoon, the Florida Department of Health in Broward County said the crash occurred because of “overwhelming demand” for the vaccine.
“We are sorry that the registration system did not work as we intended and this will be resolved soon,” Thaqi said in a news release. “We recognize that our Senior Community is anxious to receive the vaccine. Please know that this is just the beginning of COVID-19 vaccination opportunities.”
The website appeared to be back online shortly after 2 p.m.
Where can you get a COVID-19 vaccine in Broward County?
Starting Sunday, vaccines will be available by appointment only at:
▪ Tradewinds Park, 3600 W Sample Rd., Coconut Creek. Hours: Sunday-Thursday (Closed Friday, Saturday): 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
▪ Vista View Park, 4001 SW 142nd Ave., Davie. Hours: Sunday-Thursday (Closed Friday, Saturday): 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Starting Tuesday, vaccines also will be available by appointment at:
▪ Markham Park, 16001 W State Road 84, Sunrise. Hours: Sunday-Thursday (Closed Sunday, Monday): 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
▪ Broward Health also began distributing COVID-19 vaccines to people 65 and older Wednesday and is no longer accepting appointments. The hospital said it has more than 5,000 appointments scheduled through February.
The Florida Department of Health in Broward County said additional vaccination sites are expected to open in the future and is encouraging everyone to continue checking browardcovidvaccine.com for future appointment slots and locations.
This story was originally published December 30, 2020 at 10:04 AM.
