MIAMI GARDENS, FLA. (WSVN) - It was another busy weekend of COVID-19 vaccinations across South Florida, bringing shots of hope to thousands of people, including a famous local entertainer.
The Hard Rock Stadium site in Miami Gardens administered 1,103 inoculations on Sunday, as of 1:50 p.m.
“Things are moving ahead,” said Mike Jachles with the Florida Association of Public Information Officers.
At the site run by the Federal Emergency Management Association at Miami Dade College’s North Campus in Northwest Miami-Dade, 1,820 vaccinations were administered on Sunday.
Starting Monday, age restrictions will be relaxed across the Sunshine State.
“Since those are walk-up sites, they will be busy with the new criteria that people 60 and over can get vaccines,” said Jachles.
In addition, other groups who qualify include health care personnel as well as law enforcement and teachers aged 50 or older.
“Plan ahead. If you can’t stand, bring a chair, something to sit on; there may be a wait,” said Jachles. “However, once you’re parked at the Miami-Dade College North site, generally, it’s under an hour between you get in line and leave.”
With the expanded guidelines comes easier access to vaccines. A site a Bucky Dent Park in Hialeah is set to open starting Monday at noon. Only first-time shots will be given at this location.
Speaking of first-timer, musician and producer Emilio Estefan got his vaccine through Jackson Health System.
“I was the first one to do it, because I feel you have to set an example,” he said in a video. “We’ll be able to send a beautiful message to a lot of people and save a lot of lives.”
The push to end the pandemic has slowly made progress across the country.
However, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institutes of Health, warned Americans that while COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and death rates have been declining, people should continue to follow public health guidelines if vaccinated people want to gather in small groups, like President Joe Biden suggested, by July 4.
“If you look at the number of vaccines that are going into people now, I think that goal of anybody 18 years of age or older will be able to get a vaccine by May 1st, I think that’s quite reasonable,” said Fauci.
With reports that Republican men are holding off on receiving the COVID vaccine, Fauci made a plea to former President Donald Trump.
“He’s a very widely popular person among Republicans. If he came out and said, ‘Go and get vaccinated. It’s really important for your health, the health of your family and the health of your country,’ it seems inevitable that the vast majority people who are his close followers would listen to him,” said Fauci.
With vaccinations underway, stimulus payments are also hitting bank accounts after Biden signed the American Relief Bill into law on Thursday.
The Internal Revenue Service has updated its website for those who want to find out how much they’re due and when they will receive it. To check the status of your payment, 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.
Copyright 2025 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.