COVID vaccine live updates: What you should know in South Florida on Thursday, Jan. 7
COVID-19 vaccines are now available in South Florida, and the rules on who can get a shot, where and when can be confusing.
Here’s what you need to know:
What’s new today?
▪ Miami-Dade will begin vaccinating people 65 and over at an appointment-only site, using leftover doses of the COVID-19 vaccine that had been partially reserved for a county fire department that ended up not using most of its allotment. Appointments became available online Thursday afternoon at miamidade.gov/vaccine. Slots filled up within 20 minutes at the most.
▪ An investigation is underway after 56-year-old Miami Beach doctor Gregory Michael died two weeks after receiving the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. The Miami-Dade Medical Examiner’s Office said it is still investigating his death and has not ruled out a connection to the vaccine. The obstetrician-gynecologist is remembered as having helped “grow Miami one baby at a time,” delivering hundreds of healthy children into the world.
▪ Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens will begin offering COVID-19 vaccines Friday to seniors 65 and older and frontline healthcare workers. It’s the first state-run testing site in Miami-Dade County to offer vaccines. COVID-19 testing will also be available for now.
▪ Former COVID-19 testing site Holiday Park in Fort Lauderdale reopened Thursday as an appointment-only vaccination site.
▪ A line of at least 50 seniors was spotted in front of the Monroe County Health Department’s office in Key West Wednesday. They wanted COVID-19 vaccines. Health officials said appointments would be available next week by phone and online. The health department couldn’t say when vaccines for seniors in the general public would arrive.
▪ Baptist Health will begin offering COVID-19 vaccine appointments to seniors 65 and older on Friday. Appointments will also be available to at-risk patients.
Who can get COVID-19 vaccines in Florida and who cannot? Do you need proof of residency?
Currently, Florida is giving vaccines to healthcare workers, long-term care facility residents and staff, and people 65 and older, including snowbirds. Florida does not plan to require teachers and students to get the vaccine, even if one meant for children becomes available by next school year.
Florida does not have a statewide residency requirement to get the COVID-19 vaccine. This means if you live in Miami-Dade, you can get the vaccine in Broward or vice versa.
Who should not get a COVID-19 vaccine: People who have had a severe allergic reaction to ingredients in the vaccine or had a severe reaction after a previous dose. Ingredients of the Pfizer-BioNTech and the Moderna vaccine can be found on FDA.gov.
What COVID-19 vaccines are available in Florida? How many doses do I need?
Florida has two vaccines available: Pfizer BioNTech and Moderna.
The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine requires two shots, three weeks apart, and can be given to people 16 and older. Moderna’s vaccine requires two shots, one month apart, and can be given to people 18 and older. Neither vaccine will give you COVID-19.
The two vaccines are not interchangeable, however, which means that if your first shot was the Pfizer vaccine, your second shot cannot be the Moderna vaccine, according to the CDC.
COVID-19 vaccination sites in South Florida?
Publix will soon have vaccines available in three of Florida’s 67 counties. None of the counties are in South Florida, which has been hit hardest during the pandemic. That might change in the future. Walgreens, CVS, Winn-Dixie, Walmart and other pharmacies will also eventually have vaccines in stock.
For now, here are your options in South Florida:
Miami-Dade County:
The county has a website, miamidade.gov/vaccine, where it plans to post updates on where seniors, and eventually the rest of the general public, will be able to find and schedule COVID-19 vaccination appointments.
The county also began scheduling appointments through the website Thursday afternoon for its new drive-thru vaccination site at Tropical Park, 7900 SW 40th Street. Slots filled up within minutes. The county is hoping to add additional appointments in the future.
Marlins Park in Miami and Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, two popular COVID-19 testing sites, also in the process of being converted into vaccination sites.
At the moment, here are the other places offering vaccines:
▪ Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach is booking appointments for people 75 and older and will eventually lower it to 65. Call 305-674-2312 to schedule an appointment, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday through Sunday.
▪ Jackson Health System, the county’s public hospital network, has launched an online portal for people 65 and older to schedule vaccine appointments. All of its appointment slots are currently full, but the hospital plans to add more in the future. To check for available appointments, visit https://jhsmiami.org/comvac/.
▪ Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens on Friday will begin providing vaccinations by appointment to seniors and frontline healthcare workers. It had an unannounced “soft opening” Wednesday as a vaccination site. Visit https://www.wellbeingflorida.com/ or call 1-800-581-5123 to setup an appointment, which are mandatory for a vaccine. The stadium will also continue to provide COVID-19 testing, which can be pre-registered for at florida.curativeinc.com.
▪ Florida’s Department of Health said its Miami-Dade office plans to launch vaccination clinics soon. Besides Hard Rock Stadium, another place expected to be a vaccination site is Marlins Park in Miami, date still unknown.
▪ Florida International University has applied to be a vaccination site and is waiting to hear back from the Florida Department of Health.
▪ Baptist Health, one of the county’s largest private hospitals, will begin offering COVID-19 vaccine appointments to seniors 65 and older on Friday. Appointments will also be available to at-risk patients. Visit Baptisthealth.net/vaccine on Friday to setup an appointment
▪ 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.
▪ Miami Beach plans to begin administering COVID-19 vaccines to some seniors living in affordable housing or who are confined to their homes. Miami Beach Fire Rescue, which received 600 doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, is expected to begin on-site vaccinations Wednesday, Jan. 6, at the Council Towers North senior affordable housing building.
Broward County:
Memorial Healthcare System is now offering Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines to senior citizens. Appointments can be made at the MyChart portal, https://mychart.mhs.net for current Memorial Healthcare patients. Others have to call 954-276-4340.
You can make an appointment with Memorial to get the vaccine at the two 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 Pkwy. in Miramar, 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
The Florida Department of Health in Broward County has created a website to schedule COVID-19 vaccine appointments. As of Monday, all of the appointment slots are full. The health department says it plans to add additional appointment slots in the coming weeks at https://browardcovidvaccine.com/.
The appointment-only vaccine sites listed on the website above include.
▪ Tradewinds Park, 3600 W Sample Rd., Coconut Creek — open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday through Thursday.
▪ Vista View Park, 4001 SW 142nd Ave., Davie — open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday through Thursday.
▪ Markham Park & Target Range, 16001 W State Road 84 in Sunrise — open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday
▪ Holiday Park and War Memorial in Fort Lauderdale, a former COVID-19 testing site reopened Thursday as a vaccine site.
▪ Central Broward Park and Broward County Stadium, 3700 NW 11th Place in Lauderhill, is set to open Friday.
Broward Health, the hospital network, has all of its vaccination appointments full through February and is no longer accepting appointments for now.
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
Monroe County:
By next week, people in the Florida Keys who are 65 and older will be able to register online or by phone to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, the Florida Health Department in Monroe County said Wednesday.
But the department couldn’t say when the vaccines will arrive.
So far, Monroe is reserving appointments only for healthcare professionals and people with special needs who are 65 over and are registered with Monroe County Emergency Management — meaning they need special assistance during emergency evacuations and times when storm shelters are open.
For seniors in the general population, a website and phone number to schedule COVID-19 vaccine appointments is still on hold.
This story was originally published January 7, 2021 at 9:19 AM with the headline "COVID vaccine live updates: What you should know in South Florida on Thursday, Jan. 7."
