Residency proof not needed for vaccine at some sites in Florida, paving way for migrants
Florida has scrapped its rule requiring multiple proofs of residency to get a COVID-19 vaccine now that sites are seeing a lower demand. It’s a win for immigrant civil rights groups that said the requirement was barring undocumented migrant workers from getting a shot at protection.
The rule change expands vaccine access in the state to include anyone who is providing “goods and services” in Florida, which just means they’re working in the state.
Florida Immigration Coalition, an immigrant civil rights group, told the Miami Herald in an email Friday that it’s glad to see the change and considers it “long overdue.”
“COVID doesn’t discriminate, neither should we. Over 700,000 Floridians have worked too hard, for too long to be used and abused as second-class citizens,” the coalition said in a statement. “It’s not fair to use our labor without protecting our bodies. ... Our fates, economics and our health are entwined.”
The new criteria went into effect Friday at all state-run and federally supported vaccination sites, including Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Tree Tops Park in Davie, and the FEMA-supported hub at Miami Dade College North campus. Miami-Dade County-run sites Tropical Park, Zoo Miami and Homestead Sports Complex followed suit.
“This is a win for all who call our community home. Eliminating barriers that prevent people from accessing the vaccine must continue to be a top priority for governments at all levels,” Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said on Twitter on Friday.
Florida Surgeon General Dr. Scott Rivkees issued the new public health advisory late Thursday. It rescinds an advisory issued in January that had restricted vaccinations to people who could show proof of Florida residency. The state said the restriction was to curb vaccine tourism, or people traveling from other countries to Florida just to get a shot.
Under the old advisory, Florida residents only needed to show a driver’s license to get vaccinated. Snowbirds, or seasonal residents, needed to provide two documents that showed proof of residency.
Who is now eligible to get a COVID vaccine in Florida?
As of Friday, proof of residency is now verbal. You’ll be asked if you’re a Florida resident or if you’re living in the state for work. If you say yes, you can get a shot, according to the state.
Everyone who wants a shot will still need to fill out a screening and consent form on site. Proof of age will still be required to comply with FDA emergency-use authorization. Moderna and J&J’s minimum age is 18 years old. Pfizer starts at age 16.
Teens 16 and 17 can show a driver’s license, ID card, birth certificate or passport. If they don’t have the documents readily available, their parent or legal guardian — who must be at the vaccination with them — can also confirm their age.
Snowbirds, or seasonal residents, can also still get a vaccine.
The new system is meant to make it easier for undocumented migrants and others who live or work in Florida to get vaccinated, especially now that sites are seeing lower demand, said Florida Division of Emergency Management spokeswoman Samantha Bequer.
The lower demand has already led Broward Health and Jackson Health System to move to stop administering first doses of the vaccine as May begins. Jackson went further and will completely stop vaccinating by May 21.
The new advisory expanding vaccine access also comes a few weeks after the Miami Herald and other news outlets reported on how undocumented migrants were being turned away at vaccination sites. A handful of Florida Democratic members of Congress, including Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, then sent letters to the governor’s office. Vaccination sites are also seeing lower demand.
“Tearing down vaccination barriers protects everyone who calls Florida home, and ensures our undocumented friends and neighbors are not left exposed throughout this pandemic,” Schultz said in a statement to the Miami Herald Friday. “Opening access to inoculations at all state and federal levels must remain a priority. It’s the only way we will overcome this virus and keep all our communities healthy and economically secure.”
Andrew Case, the senior counsel at LatinoJustice, a national civil rights organization with an office in Orlando, said he believes it was the public pressure, mixed with lower vaccine demand, that pushed Florida to end its “restrictive” residency requirement, which he said discriminated against the undocumented.
Now that Florida has ended its residency requirement, Case said his organization will be working with other local groups to ensure that there are no more vaccine access issues.
Experts have said that reports of immigrants being turned away have been rising, and a South Miami-Dade observer said most laborers and agricultural workers in the area don’t have access to the vaccine.
Oscar Londoño, executive director of WeCount!, a South Dade immigrant workers’ center, said that while these proof of residency barriers should have never been implemented in the first place, removing them is still a step in the right direction .
“We believe this new change is long overdue and a good step forward in making sure that all of our residents, whether they have immigration status or not, have access to the vaccine and a full recovery,” Londoño said.
Londoño says it is now vital to go back to communities to let them know that these barriers are no longer active while encouraging them to take the vaccine. But he knows some barriers still persist past proof of residency.
“There have been long-standing barriers around language access since so many in our community don’t speak any of the three primary languages [English, Spanish or Creole] but might speak native dialect,” Londoño said. “We know there are on-going barriers around access to the internet and literacy.”
El Nuevo Herald has also found evidence that suggests the majority of Miami-Dade Hispanics want to get vaccinated and are doing so at normal rates, despite encountering barriers like lack of legal documentation and not being able to speak English or Spanish (only speaking indigenous Latin American languages).
“Our members were some of the first to report that they were being turned away from vaccination sites, which is why we thought it was important to demand from both our local and state government that they act decisively to suspend these barriers,” Londoño said.
Londoño advised there are more steps the state should be taking to continue to grow vaccine access.
One next step suggested was the state working with local government and community-based organizations to take vaccination sites and clinics directly to communities. He also says immigrant communities should be thought of and included in future relief aid.
Other groups, including the Florida Immigration Coalition, said it will be focusing on addressing vaccine hesitancy and misinformation, an issue it noticed while trying to help people get vaccinated.
Miami Herald staff writer Carli Teproff contributed to this report.
This story was originally published April 29, 2021 at 10:21 PM.
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