MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – Tuesday marked another busy day at Miami Dade College’s North Campus now that the eligibility pool has expanded to include all adults and there was a supply of the single-dose COVID-19 vaccine.
There were so many people coming out for their first doses Tuesday morning that officials urged people who needed to get their second doses to wait until the afternoon when it’s less crowded. The site closes every day at 7 p.m.
Florida Division of Emergency Management spokesman Mike Jachles said there is a separate line for those who need to get their second doses but the process will go much quicker if people come later in the afternoon.
Starting Tuesday, 3,000 Johnson & Johnson vaccines will be administered daily at the temporary site at Miami Dade College North.
Jachles said they received an extra 1,000 doses on Tuesday and he expected to run through the initial 3,000 doses by midday. The only Pfizer doses now being distributed there are second doses.
Jachles asked for patience as they work to vaccinate people as quickly as possible.
“I want to get back to whatever normal there is in the future, and I think the only way to do that is to get the vaccination and move forward,” said Ron Valli, who traveled to the FEMA-funded hub from Boca Raton.
Fraternal twins Lucas and Lea Graham, 17, went to the site Monday with their mother as those ages 16 and older can receive the Pfizer vaccine if they bring a parent. It’s the only vaccine approved for that age group.
In Florida, more than 6.3 million people have received at least one shot.
In Miami-Dade County, more than 808,000 people have received at least one shot.
And in Broward, it’s more than 565,000.
“Continuing to wear the mask and to get vaccinated, those are the two most important things that we all must do,” Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said.
Levine Cava said the success of the vaccination program and the declining COVID-19 death rates contributed to her decision to end the county’s midnight curfew.
“The curfew will be lifted next Monday, April 12,” she announced Monday.
The vaccination site at Miami Dade College’s North Campus will remain open through May 26.
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