MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – Miami-Dade County officials announced Thursday that a limited number of COVID-19 vaccination appointments will be available to seniors ages 65 and older, which can be made by visiting miamidade.gov/vaccine.
The county reminds the public that the demand for vaccines is still much greater than the existing supply and assures residents that they are working hard to make the vaccines available to the community quickly as new supplies are received.
“We are in an emergency, and we need to distribute COVID-19 vaccines without delay to protect our community and keep our economy moving forward,” Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said in a statement. “As County Mayor, my priority is to work with all our partners to get vaccinations to eligible residents as fast (as) possible, and today we are proud to offer a limited number of vaccine appointments available to seniors 65+ in our community.”
The county will be taking appointments on the website beginning at 2 p.m. Thursday and the vaccines will begin to be administered on Friday at Tropical Park. The website is also available in Spanish at miamidade.gov/vacuna and in Haitian Creole at miamidade.gov/vaksen.
Hard Rock Stadium has also semi-converted into a vaccination site and had another long line of drivers Thursday morning.
The state-run site, which was previously used only for COVID-19 testing, is now being expanded to include two new lanes for vaccines.
The drive-thru set up is allowing drivers to get the shot while sitting safely in their cars.
“That’s a pretty efficient way of delivering this, and I think it’s going to be very, very exciting for a lot of people,” Gov. Ron DeSantis said during a news conference Wednesday.
DeSantis toured the new operation on Wednesday before announcing the “soft opening” of the vaccination area – meaning, for now, only those with an invitation can get the shot here.
They will be expanding the service to general population seniors beginning Friday.
Anyone who qualifies must first make an appointment, beginning at 8 a.m. Friday by calling 1-888-499-0840.
As of Friday, 1,000 appointments will be available per day, over the next seven days. Additional appointments are dependent on additional vaccine being allocated by the federal government.
To register, please call the following number: 1-888-499-0840
“It is truly all hands on deck to get these shots in people’s arms as fast as possible,” Levine Cava said.
The new vaccination site comes as officials in Miami Beach ramp up their vaccination efforts, as well with some fire stations receiving a special freezer to house the Moderna vaccine, allowing first responders to give the shots to seniors who are stuck at home and those living in affordable housing.
“We’ve trained our EMTs, we’ve trained our firefighters for delivering the vaccine -- we just got to get it to them because every day they go without it is a day they’re in danger,” Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber said.
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