COVID vaccine live updates: What you should know in South Florida on Monday, Jan. 25
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?
▪ Seniors trying to get a COVID-19 vaccine in South Florida are coming across a roadblock, that for some, is making it even more difficult to book an appointment: technology. Many of the vaccination sites in Miami-Dade and Broward counties, including hospitals, have relied on websites to schedule appointments. There are a few sites, however, that are accepting appointments by phone, including Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens and Vista View Park in Davie.
▪ Moderna says new research shows its COVID-19 vaccine does work on variants of the virus from the United Kingdom and South Africa. But, it will still create a new booster shot for the South African strain “out of an abundance of caution,” Miami Herald news partner CBS4 reports.
▪ Monroe County is expected to receive another 600 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine in coming weeks, according to Monroe County’s top health official. Bob Eadie, administrator of the Florida Department of Health in the Keys, said Monday that officials in the island chain, as well as businesses like Publix, have developed systems to vaccinate a large number of people — but the supply isn’t coming fast enough.
▪ Jackson Health System had COVID-19 vaccine appointments available again early Monday. Slots were gone in 16 minutes.
▪ CVS Health says its vaccinated nearly 8,000 skilled nursing facilities across the country, with second doses expected to be completed within four weeks. The company says it also expects to administer first doses to residents in more than 40,000 longer-term care facilities in the U.S. by mid-February.
▪ For the second year in a row, citing COVID-19 concerns, organizers for the popular DJ techno fest Ultra Music Festival have pulled the plug on the Bayfront Park event that would have happened in March in downtown Miami.
▪ New state data on vaccinations by ZIP Codes map out a familiar pattern for the coronavirus pandemic. Just as low-income neighborhoods tended to get hit harder by COVID-19 spread, wealthier Miami-Dade neighborhoods like Fisher Island are getting their shots at a faster rate.
▪ As Florida struggles to meet demand for COVID-19 vaccinations while grappling with a slowdown in federal vaccine supplies, state records show more than 40,000 people are overdue for their second dose. The data was stripped from Florida’s daily vaccination report last week to avoid confusion with federal guidance that gives people more flexibility on when they need to receive their second dose, according to the Florida Division of Emergency Management. While this means the 44,470 people Florida labeled as “overdue” are still eligible to get their booster shot, the data also shows that there’s an issue with the vaccine rollout, said Dr. Amesh Adalja, a senior scholar at the Center for Health Security at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
▪ President Joe Biden has issued a blizzard of executive orders aimed at curbing the virus’ spread, many of which originated in his coronavirus campaign plan. Florida has already started some of Biden’s proposals, including having a strategy to reopen schools and offer more COVID-19 testing. In Florida, schools have been opened for months for in-person and online learning. COVID-19 testing availability also hasn’t been an issue recently. Other Biden proposals include calling for more data transparency, which has been lacking in Florida.
▪ The COVID-19 vaccination site at Holiday Park in Fort Lauderdale has closed. Starting Tuesday, vaccinations will be done by appointment only at Snyder Park, 3299 SW Fourth Ave. Anyone who received their first dose at Holiday Park must go to Snyder Park on the date written on their appointment card for their second dose.
▪ With demand sky-high for COVID-19 vaccines, Miami-Dade commissioners were handed a coveted batch of appointments to fill as they see fit. The announcement brought pushback from some commissioners. Others said the plan made sense, given the apparent racial and income gaps when it comes to neighborhoods that are lagging in vaccination rates.
▪ After two of Miami-Dade County’s largest hospitals canceled thousands of COVID-19 vaccination appointments due to lack of supply, Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava signed an emergency order that she says will give the county more control over the vaccination process by ending hospital overbooking.
Who can get COVID-19 vaccines in Florida and who cannot? Do you need proof of residency?
Florida is giving vaccines to healthcare workers, long-term care facility residents and staff, and people 65 and older. Hospitals can also choose to give the vaccine to people with health conditions that make them “at risk” of falling seriously ill with the disease.
There is now a statewide residency requirement in place. This means if you live in Miami-Dade, you can get the vaccine in Broward or vice versa. Anyone who lives in another state or country can no longer get the vaccine in Florida. Non-residents who have already received the vaccine in Florida will still be able to get the second dose.
The change was made to curb vaccine tourism, or people who travel from another state or country to get the vaccine in Miami or another part of the state.
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 vaccines can be found on FDA.gov.
How many people have received the COVID-19 vaccine in Florida?
According to the state’s Sunday COVID-19 vaccine report, 1,224,188 people have received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in Florida and 155,314 people have completed the series of two doses of either Pfizer or Moderna vaccines.
Of those who completed the two dose vaccination, 23,514 were Miami-Dade residents, 17,547 were Broward residents and 323 were Monroe residents.
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 has vaccines available in select Florida counties. South Florida, which has been hit hardest during the pandemic, is not among the locations. 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 posts 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 schedules appointments through the website for vaccination sites including Zoo Miami and Tropical Park.
At the moment, here are the places offering vaccines:
▪ Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach is no longer booking appointments and has canceled all first-dose appointments for Jan. 23 and later because of supply constraints. Second-dose appointments are not affected. To check for updates, visit msmc.com/coronavirus-update/
▪ 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.
▪ 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.
▪ Seniors 65 and older who seek care with Leon Medical Centers can call customer service at 305-642-5366 to schedule a free COVID-19 vaccination appointment. If you need transportation, let the operator know so they can also schedule a driver to pick you up. Appointments will be scheduled until Leon 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.
▪ Florida International University has applied to be a vaccination site. The university also received Moderna doses to vaccinate FIU faculty and staff 65 and older as well as FIU healthcare workers who have direct contact with patients.
▪ Miami-Dade County has begun contacting homebound seniors age 65 and older who live in county facilities or receive county services to offer vaccination appointments.
▪ Miami Beach has begun administering COVID-19 vaccines to some seniors living in affordable housing or who are confined to their homes.
Broward County:
▪ Broward Health, the hospital network, has filled all of its vaccination appointments 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 is now a COVID-19 vaccination site. Seniors 65 and older, office staff of Broward Health-credentialed physicians and other healthcare providers and their office staff can request an appointment online at BrowardHealth.org and a Broward Health scheduler will then respond to finish the appointment booking.
▪ Memorial Healthcare System ran out of COVID-19 vaccines again. Once doses are available again, appointments can be made through the MyChart portal, https://mychart.mhs.net for current Memorial Healthcare patients. Others will have to call 954-276-4340.
The appointment-only vaccine locations listed in the website above are:
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 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
Monroe County:
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 story was originally published January 25, 2021 at 7:39 AM with the headline "COVID vaccine live updates: What you should know in South Florida on Monday, Jan. 25."
