JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Thursday that six new COVID-19 vaccine locations would be opening across the state to help inoculate underserved communities, including three in South Florida.
The new locations include Broward College’s North Campus in Coconut Creek, as well as Oak Grove Park and the Overtown Youth Center in Miami-Dade County.
Broward College – North Campus 1000 Coconut Creek Blvd Coconut Creek, FL 33066
Oak Grove Park - Father Gerard Jean-Juste Community Center 690 NE 159th Street Miami, FL 33162
Overtown – Parking Lot 1551 NW 1st Ave Miami, FL 33136
Other sites are also opening at Florida A&M University in Leon County, the Kissimmee Community Center in Osceola County, and at Edward Waters College in Jacksonville where DeSantis made the announcement.
The locations opened Thursday and will be open to seniors 65 and older and frontline healthcare workers seven days a week. When the pop-ups opened Thursday they were not requiring appointments.
The governor said at least 200 vaccines will be administered daily at each location.
According to DeSantis, more than 44% of the state’s senior population has received the vaccine, which is about 4.5 million seniors.
“We’re proud of that momentum,” he said. “We want to build off of it.”
Later in the day, the governor held another news conference in Fort Pierce, at which time he said he hopes the state will be able to receive shipments of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine next week.
He said while some are skeptical about the vaccine’s 66% effectiveness, he said the one-dose vaccine has a 100% effectiveness when it comes to preventing hospitalization or death.
WATCH: Gov. DeSantis holds news conference in Fort Pierce
DeSantis said the vaccine also doesn’t require any special freezing, but can be simply placed in a refrigerator.
He said he plans to receive the Johnson & Johnson vaccine himself when it is more widely available to the public.
For now, seniors and frontline healthcare workers can visit https://myvaccine.fl.gov/ or call 866-201-6313 to pre-register for an appointment at any of the state-run vaccination sites.
For those requiring TTY access, the number is 844-252-2003.
The health department says qualifying Floridians can enter their information on that website and will be contacted when doses are available at vaccination sites in their area.
People are reminded to not show up at any of these sites unless they have an appointment. Those without an appointment have been turned away.
Separately, Publix announced Thursday that all its pharmacy locations across the state would be administering vaccines as of next week. That includes all locations in Miami-Dade and Broward that had previously not had the shots.
Winn-Dixie also announced Thursday that two additional supermarkets in Miami-Dade County will also begin administering vaccines:
Winn-Dixie Store No. 214: 1150 NW 54th St., Miami, FL 33127
Winn-Dixie Store No. 247: 1155 NW 11th St., Miami, FL 33136
Those interested in receiving the vaccine at one of those locations are asked to visit www.winndixie.com/pharmacy/covid-vaccine.