MIAMI (WSVN) - Health experts are calling South Florida the new epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic and are urging individuals to get vaccinated as cases are trending in the wrong direction.
For the first time in months, lines are forming at COVID-19 testing sites, such as the one in Fort Lauderdale, and everyone is blaming one thing for the surge in cases: People who are not willing to get the shot.
“It’s really an issue with patients that are not vaccinated here in Miami,” said Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Intensive Care Unit Medical Director Dr. David De La Zerda.
COVID comeback is the last doctors across South Florida were hoping to see this summer, but with roughly half the state’s population still unvaccinated, variants of the original coronavirus continue to form, creating deadlier and more contagious versions of the virus.
“It’s the unvaccinated that are coming into our hospitals, overwhelming our healthcare system,” said Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava.
Roughly 20% of all new COVID-19 infections nationwide are coming from Florida. That’s one in five cases.
Long lines that have not been seen in months are forming back at testing sites across the area as vaccine misinformation continues to persuade many not to get the shot.
“What I would really like to see is more and more of the leaders in those areas that are not vaccinated to get out and speak out and encourage people to get vaccinated,” said Dr. Anthony Fauci.
“The vaccine is safe. It’s effective. There were no safety shortcuts in getting this vaccine to the public,” said Iowa Rep. Marianette Miller-Meeks.
But as the unvaccinated continue to circulate the virus, health experts said face coverings may need to once again be used in all public spaces.
“We need to go back to the precautions that we are all very familiar with,” Levine Cava said.
“That will help decrease the number of infections out in the community and will ultimately help get us out of this situation we’re in at the moment,” said Jackson’s Chief Medical Officer Dr. Hany Atallah.
And doctors have their own advice to those refusing to get the shot.
“If you don’t want to get vaccinated, stay home. Don’t go out and infect somebody else,” De La Zerda said.
According to the CDC, coronavirus cases in Florida as of last week jumped to 73,199 from 45,604.
Miami-Dade officials announced the following new mobile vaccination and testing locations:
Home Depot (Deerwood)
11905 SW 152nd Street, Miami, FL 33177
Open 7 days a week from 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Bay Harbor Islands’ 95th Street Park
1185 95th St., Bay Harbor Islands, FL 33154
Open 7 days a week from 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Haulover Park
13731 Collins Ave, North Miami Beach, FL 33154
Open 7 days a week from 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Sunny Isles Beach Government Center
18070 Collins Ave., Sunny Isles Beach, FL 33160
Open 7 days a week from 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Home Depot (Hialeah)
1590 West 49th Street, Hialeah, FL 33012
Open 7 days a week from 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
To register for vaccinations, click here. To register for testing, click here.
Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines are being offered.
On Sunday, Broward County announced two vaccination sites for Broward residents 12 and older: one in Davie and one in North Lauderdale. Both sites are operated by the Florida Department of Health in Broward.
The location for the walk-up sites in Broward are:
Nova Southeastern University
7901 SW 36th St., Suite 209, Davie, FL 33328
Open Monday thru Wednesday from noon to 8 p.m., Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
North Lauderdale Community Affairs Center
7765 SW 10th St., North Lauderdale, FL 33068
Open Sundays only from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Both Broward sites only offer the Pfizer vaccine. For more information, click here.
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