North Miami Beach backtracked: why tourists won’t finally be able to get vaccinated in South Florida yet

The mayor of the small town of North Miami Beach (according to the last census, it has less than 43 thousand inhabitants), Anthony DeFillipo, said in an interview with a former Colombian mayor on Friday that his town was vaccinating tourists. He even went further, and assured that he had contacted the consulates of Peru, Colombia and Honduras in South Florida to offer vaccines to their residents who visit Miami, a gesture that the Honduran consulate publicly thanked. Although their words were denied by a statement posted on social networks by their city, in which they clarified that it was a misunderstanding and that they do not vaccinate tourists, the mayor’s words were enough to confuse local and foreign.

The vaccine system in the United States is determined by the states. The federal government is the only one to buy vaccines. Once you have them, they’re distributed to all 50 states. Each of these states can determine what the vaccination rules are in their region, and in turn distribute the doses received among the different municipalities and counties, which must follow the state rules.

In the case of Florida, The latest regulations signed by Governor Ron DeSantis extend the eligibility criteria from those who can receive the vaccine to those over 18, or over 16 years of age accompanied by a parent or responsible guardian. The only caveat the decree imposes is that those to be vaccinated must show proof of residence in the state of Florida (which can be anything from a state-issued document, to a utility bill with the person’s name and address in Florida, proof of attendance at courses in the State or rental agreement of at least six months).

“All municipalities must follow the rule imposed by the governor, we do not have the power to change it ourselves”, explained to Infobae Robert Hevia, Director of Emergency Management for the City of Miami.

The city of Miami, the largest in South Florida, as well as Miami-Dade County and Broward County (where cities such as Fort Lauderdale and Hollywood belong), continue ask for proof of residency in vaccination centers and that will not change until the state government signs a new decree. From Tallahassee, the capital of Florida, they say that at present this is not expected to change.

However, It’s an open secret that many tourists come to Florida to get vaccinated. Some have some connection to the state, so may present some kind of evidence, and others have just managed to cheat the system. The reality is that there are a large number of vaccination centers, controlled by all kinds of entities – public and private -. In theory, everyone should abide by the same rules, but in practice it is difficult to control that they do. In large vaccination centers, such as stadiums where state and federal operations have been conducted, it is easy to check that all documentation is requested. It is much more difficult to do this in each of the pharmacies or supermarkets where people are also vaccinated.

It is not yet known if there will be any consequence for the Municipality of North Miami Beach for not complying with DeSantis rules. if it is proven that tourists have been vaccinated there, as reported by DeFillipo.

At the start of the vaccination process, when the doses were very limited, This sparked outrage from locals as several tourists posted on their social media that they had successfully vaccinated in Miami. Even DeSantis himself and Miami Mayor Francis Suarez condemned the events, ensuring residents of Florida came first.

However, as the weeks go by and the vaccination rules become more flexible, since every adult in Florida is qualified to be vaccinated (and with teams available everywhere), it is not unreasonable to think that the regulations will eventually be relaxed.

A few weeks ago, a group of state Democratic lawmakers called on DeSantis to drop the residency request to receive a vaccine, saying the undocumented community was affected by the rule. As of yet, there has been no response to this from the governor’s office.

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