MIAMI, Fla. – After state leaders informed officials at Miami-Dade College’s North Campus FEMA vaccination site that they could continue giving first doses after being instructed to only distribute second doses as of Wednesday, the site ran out early.
With the go-ahead to give 500 first doses Wednesday, Bruce Roberts, Miami-Dade College North Campus site lead, said doses were gone after only a few hours of being open Wednesday.
The site is open 7 days a week from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. They do have 2,500 second doses to distribute.
But, soon after they ran out, Florida Division of Emergency Management spokesman Mike Jachles said they were able to get more vaccine to the site and kept administering doses to those who were eligible. By 3 p.m., more than 1,600 first-dose vaccines were given out.
Jachles said they will continue to only have 500 first doses moving forward beginning Thursday.
Across the state, the demand for first doses will likely increase. That’s because Floridians of all ages will soon be eligible for the vaccine, according to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. “That’s going to happen way before May 1,” he said.
Since the college will be switching to second doses only on April 7, the influx of people wanting first doses will have to find another place to get their vaccination.
“We still have our other sites around Miami, throughout Florida that can get your first doses,” Roberts said, adding that pharmacies such as CVS and Publix pharmacies have the vaccination.
Bernard Owens was one of the first 500 people who showed up at the college to get his first dose. He did not understand why all the sites cannot give the first and second shot.
“Stopping a shot that could help somebody or save someone’s life?”
If the demand for first doses remains high, Roberts said staff may keep giving administering them beyond April 7.
“Once again, we just need to wait until the governor says ‘open to everyone’ and those allocations come to this site because we can actually do more than 3,000 a day,” Roberts said.
For those arriving for their second dose, Roberts said remember to bring the CDC shot card you were given at the first vaccination and a Florida ID card.
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