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FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) – Broward Health has made the COVID-19 vaccine available to all adult patients with underlying illnesses.
Officials of the public hospital system announced on Friday that they would expand the vaccination criteria to include anyone 18 years of age or older belonging to what they described as “increased risk groups.”
Patients with the following medical conditions will be allowed to make an appointment:
- asthma (moderate to severe)
- Cancer
- cerebrovascular disease
- chronic kidney disease
- chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
- cystic fibrosis
- Down syndrome
- heart diseases such as heart failure, coronary artery disease, or cardiomyopathies
- hypertension or high blood pressure
- immunocompromised condition due to a blood or bone marrow transplant, immune deficiencies, HIV, use of corticosteroids, or use of weakening drugs or a solid organ transplant
- liver disease
- neurological disorders, such as dementia
- overweight or obese (body mass index greater than 25)
- pregnancy
- pulmonary fibrosis
- sickle cell anemia
- smoking
- thalassemia
- Type 1 diabetes mellitus
- Type 2 diabetes mellitus
This significant expansion comes as a third COVID vaccine could be days before arriving in Sunshine State. On Friday, a panel of Food and Drug Administration advisers voted unanimously to approve Johnson & Johnson’s single-injection vaccine with emergency final approval expected shortly. The company said once the federal government gives it the green light, millions of doses will be ready to ship as early as next week.
Appointment requests for Broward Health’s COVID-19 vaccine were made available on Friday afternoon, but have since been filled and are on hold. As of Saturday, it’s unclear when other date slots will open. Officials encourage people to check for updates regularly.
In another sign, vaccine rollout is shifting into high gear in South Florida, all Publix pharmacies in Miami-Dade and Broward counties, nearly 140 locations, will begin offering the vaccine by appointment only , from Monday.
Registrations for the Publix meetings began on Friday morning and ended in two hours.
A spokesperson for the supermarket chain said they would schedule appointments from 7 a.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays depending on vaccine availability.
Grocery stores are joining a growing list of pharmacies in South Florida that carry the vaccine.
All Navarro discount pharmacies and CVS y más stories in Miami-Dade currently offer injections for the elderly.
As part of an ongoing federal program, the Miami Dade College North Campus will become a mass vaccination site capable of delivering thousands of doses per day, starting Wednesday.
Dr Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said time was running out for more arm shots.
“Over the past few weeks, cases and hospital admissions in the United States have declined since early January, and deaths have declined over the past week,” she said, “but the latest data suggests that these declines may be stagnating, potentially leveling off at a still very high number. At CDC, we see this as a very concerning course change.
To check availability of appointments, click here.
Anyone with questions and concerns about the coronavirus can call the Florida Department of Health’s 24-hour hotline at 1-866-779-6121.
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