MIAMI – Hundreds received a COVID-19 vaccine dose on Thursday at the two temporary sites in Miami-Dade County’s town of Cutler Bay and Miami’s Model City neighborhood, also known as Liberty City.
Miami residents Billy Taylor and Deidra Crittendon walked to the site at the Charles Hadley Park’s Samuel K. Johnson Youth Center at 4920 NW 12th Ave.
Taylor held on to Crittendon’s arm. He said he has been visually impaired since he was 25 years old.
“Spinal meningitis, that’s when I lost my eyesight, 1985, but I didn’t let it stop me,” Taylor said.
Crittendon and Taylor, both 64 years old, walked out smiling after receiving their first dose of the Pfizer vaccine.
“I feel good! I feel great! I feel safe, and I thank God and Jesus Christ,” Crittendon said.
As of Thursday, 2,553,865 people had completed the COVID-19 vaccine series in Florida, including 218,221 in Broward County and 275,229 in Miami-Dade County, according to the Florida Department of Health.
Also, 2,016,673 had received the first dose of a two-dose vaccine in Florida, including 185,173 in Broward and 300,267 in Miami-Dade, according to FDOH.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency-supported satellite site at the park and at the South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center, at 10950 SW 211 St., will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily until Tuesday.
The sites will reopen at both locations again in a month to deliver the second dose of the Pfizer vaccine. Robin Moncur received the first dose and plans to return for the second.
“I’m a Dade County school teacher so I think it’s very important for me to get it,” Moncur said.
Teachers of any age are eligible for the vaccine at the retail pharmacies in the federal program, at the two satellite sites, and at the FEMA-supported and state-run main hub at Miami Dade College’s North Campus, 11380 NW 27 Ave., in Westview.
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The site at the college used to offer the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine but recently ran out of it. According to FDOH, 130,875 have received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine in Florida, including 10,433 in Broward and 23,203 in Miami-Dade.
Gov. Ron DeSantis raised the issue of the lack of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine in Florida during a news conference on Wednesday in Naples and on Thursday during a public health roundtable in Tallahassee.
“We thought by the time we would get into April the flood gates would open. As of right now, we’re projected to get no additional Johnson & Johnson for the foreseeable future,” DeSantis said on Thursday. “Now, we know eventually we’re going to start getting more Moderna, more J&J, and more Pfizer. That will happen, but it isn’t going to happen over the next couple of weeks, it seems.”
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