Some vaccination sites just lifted restrictions for school staff, cops and firefighters
Law enforcement and firefighters, regardless of age, can now register for a COVID-19 vaccination through Miami-Dade County’s online portal. So can pre-K-12 school personnel and childcare workers.
The move goes beyond Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ executive order, which restricts vaccinations to K-12 school staff, law enforcement and firefighters ages 50 and older and excludes preschool and daycare workers.
Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava announced the changes in a memo to county commissioners and wrote it was to “ensure we are distributing our existing supply as efficiently as possible to protect frontline education workers and first responders.”
On Monday, the county’s vaccine website was updated to reflect the new changes.
The county is now following a federal mandate that was issued earlier this month to prioritize educators, regardless of age, Levine Cava said in the memo. She did not provide additional details on what led the county to pivot from the governor’s age criteria for law enforcement and firefighters.
Previously, the county had told the Miami Herald it had to follow the governor’s order and could not open vaccinations to all educators unless he made a new order expanding the criteria. The change comes on the heels of a letter Levine Cava sent to DeSantis Thursday detailing a plan to push Florida toward President Joe Biden’s goal of having all adults eligible for the vaccine by May 1.
“I believe we must now set a more aggressive schedule to expand eligibility to all Florida residents,” Levine Cava wrote in her letter to DeSantis. “As supply issues continue to abate with increased vaccine production, cutting red tape surrounding vaccine eligibility is critical to protecting all our communities.”
DeSantis last week said he expects to lower the vaccination age to 55 soon, and then to everyone else possibly in April.
Miami-Dade County did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the changes.
On Monday, the vaccination criteria for county-run sites Tropical Park, Zoo Miami and the Homestead Sports Complex also updated to lower the vaccination age from 65 to 60 to reflect DeSantis’ new executive order. The order also allows people under 60 who are deemed by a physician to be “extremely vulnerable” to COVID-19 to get a shot at county-run sites.
Anyone who meets the criteria can pre-register for an appointment at miamidade.gov/vaccine or by calling 305-614-2014.
Besides proof of Florida residency, law enforcement, firefighters and educators will need to show proof of employment with a badge, ID or pay stub. People under 60 with at-risk conditions will need to show a physician-signed form that can be downloaded from the Florida Department of Health’s website or the county’s online portal.
Miami-Dade County is not the first vaccination site in South Florida to tweak DeSantis’ vaccination criteria. Federal vaccination sites, including Miami Dade College North and pharmacies enrolled in the federal retail pharmacy program, including CVS, Publix, Walmart and Winn-Dixie, are also vaccinating pre-K-12 educators and childcare workers, regardless of age.
MDC North and one of the FEMA pop-up sites also opened vaccinations to anyone 18 and older at least once this month. Both sites reverted to following state guidelines the next day.
This story was originally published March 15, 2021 at 2:13 PM.
