MIAMI (WSVN) - A rehab center in Miami is distributing COVID vaccine doses to members of the homeless community.
The Homeless Trust said they have scheduled vaccination appointments for more than 300 people since mid-January.
“It’s a big deal because they’re elderly,” said Ron Book of the Homeless Trust. “It’s a big deal because we know that almost a third, a little over a third, 38% of our growth of homelessness is amongst those over the age of 55, with a large percentage over 65.”
The homeless community is especially vulnerable to contracting the virus because of living in close quarters along with underlying health conditions.
Several of those people received their second dose of the vaccine on Friday at Christine E. Lynn Rehabilitation Center in Miami.
Janet Bristol, who lives at Camillus House, said she is ready to start going out and about again.
“I didn’t really feel anything,” she said. “I am pleased that I’ve done it.”
Also on Friday, Broward County Mayor Steve Geller sent a letter to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to ask him to expand eligibility for the vaccine.
“At the rate we’re going now, every senior in Broward County will have at least the first shot within the next month or so,” Geller said. “At a minimum, you include people over 55, that you include all first responders, and that you include teachers in addition to the people that are already on the list.”
The Homeless Trust said in addition to the vaccination program, they have also tested more than 16,000 people for the coronavirus.
Experts said COVID-19 numbers across the country continue moving in a positive direction.
“We continue to see a five-week decline in COVID cases, with cases decreasing 69% in a seven-day average since hitting a peak on Jan. 11,” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, meanwhile, said studies are underway to see how the vaccine affects children, and the results should be available by the beginning of next year.
“Maybe not exactly coinciding with the first day of school, but sometime in the fall,” Fauci, the Chief Medical Advisor to President Joe Biden, said. “Starting in April they are gonna be studying 12-year-olds down to 5 and 6-year-olds. That will take likely one year to get the information on that, likely not until the first quarter. However, we anticipate data on high school age individuals, namely individuals 12 years old to 17 years old, by the beginning of the fall.”
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