Vaccines: in Florida, more and more sites do not require travel to be vaccinated

MIAMI.- Four months is a short time in a pandemic that has lasted for over a year. However, in South Florida it’s night and day. In December, when people over 65 started getting vaccinated, getting an appointment was an odyssey. The extremely high demand combined with the first doses arriving precisely in a state where 19% of the population is over 65 (the highest in the country), created a bottleneck. Health workers were also included in this category.

Four months later, many vaccination sites across the state, where just a few weeks ago you had to take an early morning shift as the days go by, no longer need an appointment. Whoever is in line is vaccinated.

In addition, all age stages have already passed, to the point that those over 18 can be vaccinated, or those over 16 with the dose of Pfizer and their parents’ consent.

Argentines continue to come to Miami to get vaccinated. “The planes are full”, count to THE NATION Marcelo Bottini, Regional Director of Aerolineas Argentinas in the United States, although it is true that the flight schedule is more limited. The company has five weekly connections with Buenos Aires. There is also a significant flow of Mexicans and Colombians who come in health tourism.

“I hadn’t planned to get the vaccine. But I went to accompany a friend to North Shore Park in Miami Beach who came as a tourist. She presented the rental agreement for one month. There was absolutely no one there, and they told me why you don’t get the shot too. And I came out with the Pfizer vaccine almost by accident, ”he says. Carlos polledo, who has lived in Miami for 20 years. “The funny thing,” he said, “was that I started talking to the old man who was sitting there receiving people. And when he gave me his card, it was the Miami Beach commissioner, ”he laughs. Some sites are called “ariseAnd are only planted at one site for two or three days, as is the case at North Shore Park.

But others are stable. At Miami Dade there are at least nine locations that do not require an appointment. Hard Rock Stadium, Marlins Park, Overtown Youth Center, Bucky Dent Park, Helen Miller Center, and Miami Dade College North Campus. In the neighboring county to the north, Broward, many of its public parks are now open to anyone who approaches them. This is the case of Markham Park, Tree Tops Park, Topeekeegee Yugnee, Tradewinds Park, Quiet Waters Park, Snyder Park and downtown Pompano Beach. While many tourists get vaccinated without proof of residency, state orders require a Florida ID card or, failing that, two proofs of residency such as a rental agreement and an electric bill. , remain in force.

Some sites are exclusively Drive-thru. The one who arrives presents his identity, and is assigned to one of the dozens of tents which are in the street and are classified by number. On the windshield of the vehicle, the park clerk writes the assigned tent number with a marker. Once there, and after the vaccination, the time at which he can leave the park is noted on the rear window, 15 minutes later. The cars continue to walk slowly and along the way there are staff who ask with their thumbs up if the vaccinees are feeling well. There is even a sign saying: “if you have a reaction or feel bad, honk your horn“. Once the cars arrive at the park gate, someone checks that it is on time for them to leave the premises.

The wide range of vaccines is even wider in the case of Johnson & johnson. On a site managed by the division of Florida Emergency Management (FEMA)Last Sunday, the day it resumed application after an 11-day hiatus, 90% of the supply was not used. The vaccination site on the west campus of Valencia College in Orlando, administered just 268 doses of the 3,000 Johnson & Johnson vaccines available last Sunday.

At Miami Dade College North Campus, the vaccine is also provided. Only 195 of Johnson & Johnson were put in place last Sunday, compared to around 427 initial doses of Pfizer.