(WSVN) - As more seniors over the age of 65 try to schedule appointments to get the COVID-19 vaccine, the demand continues to be met with problems.
On Tuesday, Markham Park in Sunrise joined Vista View Park and Tradewinds Park as a COVID-19 vaccine distribution site in Broward County.
Memorial Healthcare System and Jackson Healthcare System are offering appointments for seniors who want to get vaccinated.
Jackson Health has an online appointment system where anyone 65 years of age or older can sign up and make an appointment. The healthcare system aims to distribute more than 2,000 vaccines per day.
Within minutes of its Tuesday morning launch, all 12,000 slots were filled, and officials said they will not be able to make more until they secure more doses.
“So everybody knows: we are not setting up appointments unless we have vaccine for those appointments,” Jackson Health CEO Carlos Migoya said. “We are working with the state at this point in time to find out when the next allocation that we will receive. We’re expecting to get that news sometime Thursday or Friday.”
However, some people with appointments were turned away while they were in line.
“They’re saying to us that even though we have appointments, they don’t have enough resources to give us our vaccines today,” one man said.
“We came like an hour and a half before, and we found that they’re cutting off the line,” Martha Moreira said. “They have the vaccine, they say, but not enough personnel to administer and document.”
Miami-Dade County officials said over 30,000 people have received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
On Wednesday morning, several seniors formed a line outside of Jackson Memorial Hospital as they waited for their vaccine appointment.
It was an improvement from the crowded line formed outside of the hospital the day prior.
“Socially distance yourself!” one hospital staff member told the crowd of seniors. “This is not helping!”
“We are truly in an emergency situation,” Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said. “This is not business as usual. This is a crisis for our community. We are working with our state government, our hospitals, the department of health and Miami-Dade County, and we’re activating as many vaccination sites as possible. Please know that we are doing everything in our power to distribute these vaccines safely and efficiently.”
Meanwhile, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez announced the COVID-19 testing sites at Marlins Park and Hard Rock Stadium will be transformed into vaccination sites, but it is not yet known when the site will be up and running.
Memorial Healthcare System has also extended COVID-19 vaccinations to seniors 65 and older. Those who have been a previous patient at a Memorial facility can schedule an appointment through the MyChart portal.
Seniors 65 and older who have not been a Memorial patient previously and want to get the Pfizer vaccine can call 954-276-4340 Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
“I think that’s great, that’s great,” Bruce Gier said. “They just kind of misled about appointments and stuff, but hey, to get it this week would be great.”
Neddie Lynn and her husband were among some of the first seniors at Markham Park to get their dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
“I feel very comfortable doing it,” said Lynn. “We have an appointment today. Yes, we do. It was a struggle, but we were able to use the internet and make it through the internet.”
Vaccination sites across Broward County saw long lines once again as some seniors showed up hours before their scheduled appointment times to make sure they would get the vaccine.
The Florida Department of Health of Broward’s website was inundated with people over the age of 65 hoping to get the vaccine early on in the rollout process.
“I think they need to fix their technology; it’s what needs to be done,” said Lynn.
Due to a scheduling glitch, more appointments were given than could be served in a day. To reduce long lines and unnecessary waiting, at some sites today we stopped taking new clients earlier than planned. Anyone who had an appointment and wasn’t served will be rescheduled.
— FLHealthBroward (@FLHealthBroward) January 5, 2021
“Let me respond by saying that the county isn’t handling this at all,” Broward County Mayor Steve Geller said. “Vaccines are being distributed pursuant to the executive order of Governor DeSantis. I’m afraid that they may have been given unreasonable expectations. It’s a matter of Math. There are not enough vaccines in the state of Florida.”
Some individuals who were able to make an appointment on the website still were worried they wouldn’t get the vaccine.
“The process was extremely difficult,” said Sam Landol. “They confirmed me on the screen but [I] never received the email, so I’m hoping that they have a way of being able to locate that here.”
The Kings Point retirement community in Tamarac started offering the vaccine to its residents on Tuesday morning.
“These people are going to be vaccinated today,” Kings Point Social Director Andres Gonzalez said. “We started with slots of 50 people every hour, so probably taking 500 to 600 people daily.”
While Broward’s Department of Health temporarily stops taking appointments, seniors can still get the vaccine through Jackson Health and Memorial Heathcare.
“We feel, within two to three weeks, that we can gear this thing up to somewhere around the 60,000 to 75,000 patients a week,” Migoya said. “If we’re able to do that, we’d be able to vaccinate approximately 60% of the over-65 in Miami-Dade County, which happens to be a total of 465,000 people, sometime by the end of January, early week of February.”
While those with appointments are finding themselves in lengthy lines, they seem to be moving quickly. One woman in Lauderhill said she waited about 30 minutes in line and that it was moving “pretty fast.”
7SkyForce hovered over Central Regional Park in Lauderhill, where the line of cars spilled out onto Sunrise Boulevard.
Those who were turned away from the Sunrise vaccination site will have their appointments rescheduled, the health department said.
A representative for Jackson Health said those turned away on Tuesday will have their appointments honored at a later date.
Residents at John Knox Village in Pompano Beach recieved their second COVID-19 vaccination on Wednesday.
For more information on vaccination sites in South Florida, click here.
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