“More people came than expected”: Miami now extends vaccination plan to its beaches

MIAMI.– The city of Miami Beach installed today, for the first time since the start of the vaccination campaign, a site literally on the beach to move forward with the vaccination against Covid-19. On the sand at 16th Street in South Beach, and just 100 yards from the Lincoln Road tourist pedestrian route, tourists and residents alike could see a mobile health clinic truck and three tents that serve as stations for They went through all visitors: registration, vaccination and observation.

Under a strong sun and with a temperature of over 30 ° C, two Argentinian couples lined up to try to access the doses. They are tourists, they don’t want to give their name and they feel uncomfortable when asked. “We have no proof of address, no bank account, or whatever,” answered LA NACION’s questions curtly.

An employee brings small bottles of ice water to the line. They stop him. They ask him if he needs proof of residence or work, and after a few seconds of chatting, they leave the queue and get lost among the people.

“We do not vaccinate tourists”, says LA NACION David Richardson, Miami Beach Commissioner which welcomes visitors and verifies their identity.

“We ask a question: ‘Do you live in Florida? “If they are not residents, we ask them if they work here, if they sell goods or services. For example, if you export flowers from Peru and you travel because you sell your flowers here, you can show us a business license or a contract that binds you to Florida. Something that shows us a connection to the state, “the official explains.

“We have 250 Johnson & Johnson vaccines, we have already put 170 in the afternoon. We’re going to run them out during the day, and that’s another reason why I can’t vaccinate tourists. If I give them the vaccine, I’ll run out of doses for our residents, ”adds Richardson. This is the first time in the state that a vaccine has been implanted in the sand.

Continuity

“More people came than expected,” says the commissioner with the mask and assures us that he will repeat this experience next weekend. About 24 people are waiting their turn online. One is vaccinated while three wait in the observation tent for the 15 minutes it takes to see if the dose generates a reaction.

Some spectators come to watch, others walk barefoot to find an available lounge chair. It smells of sunscreen.

– Do you think the requirements will continue to be relaxed so that tourists can be openly vaccinated?

-I think so. Already this week, the state of Florida made the residency requirement more flexible, also including those who come to provide a service or sell a product. I can’t speak for the governor, but maybe it was a way to start including some people who work here or who didn’t have the required documents until last week.

When Florida launched the vaccination last December, the state had no regulations in place indicating whether or not foreigners were eligible for the vaccine.

Terms & Conditions

January 21, State authorities have issued a resolution requiring one piece of Florida registered ID or, failing that, two proofs of residency, for example, a ticket for a service or a rental agreement.

Last Thursday, the state canceled that order and released a new rule that allows people who come to work to “provide goods or services” to be vaccinated.

However, the definition is vague and difficult for the person providing the vaccine to verify. In practice, in places where demand is lower than supply, the person who needs it is finally inoculated and is left to the sole judgment of the government official on duty.

“My theory is that you have to vaccinate most of the world’s population,” Roberto, a Puerto Rican nurse from Markham State Park, who has his vaccination arrangements on a first come, first served basis, said this week.

The worker revealed that a month ago there was an hour online. Currently, the person who receives their vaccine leaves in less than five minutes. “I get everyone vaccinated, I don’t require any requirements,” the nurse told LA NACION.

Even in many vaccinations in the state, the proof of residence of the person requesting the vaccine is verbal. “If you tell the receiving health authority that you will be staying in Florida for a period longer than 31 days, it is very likely that they will provide the dose without presenting a contract or any other proof of residence,” he points out. -he. advices.

Anyone wishing to have an injection will need to complete a control and consent form. Proof of age will be required to comply with the Emergency Use Authorization from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The minimum age for Moderna and Johnson & Johnson is 18 years old. Pfizer, for its part, requires that the petitioner be 16 years old and have parental consent.

The vaccination process is getting better and better in the United States. An advertisement from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) this week released a new set of recommendations for fully immunized people: They can stop wearing the chin strap when they are outdoors, but should continue to wear it in public spaces where it is needed.

The new suggestions marked another step towards the “new normal”. New York and Washington will begin immunizing walk-in people in the coming days, and West Virginia has announced that it will start paying young people $ 100 to be immunized.

The state of Florida, with a population of 21.5 million, has provided more than 15 million vaccines against covid-19. 41% of the population have already received at least one dose.

The challenge now is to attract those who do not want to be vaccinated. Demand has fallen so low that the state will launch a campaign to educate about the importance of having the antibodies. Cities, for their part, are setting up mobile sites in an attempt to attract as many people as possible, especially the youngest.