No appointment necessary for COVID-19 vaccines at Overtown Youth Center

MIAMI (WSVN) - Local leaders are expanding access to the COVID-19 vaccine by opening new vaccination sites across South Florida.

City of Miami Mayor Francis Suarez and other city leaders visited the vaccination site in Miami’s Overtown neighborhood on Tuesday.

However, organizers at the site said they’re not seeing as many people daily as they’d like to.

“People being able to see a COVID vaccination site in an African American community is monumental,” said Overtown Youth Center CEO Tina Brown.

No appointment is necessary for those who want to get vaccinated at the Overtown Youth Center located at 450 NW 14th St.

The site is open seven days a week from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

“We’re providing a very precious resource like vaccinations to an area that historically has not had the same amount of resources as other places,” said Overtown Youth Center Director Gerardo Castillo.

“For many African Americans who are residing in this community, they feel very comfortable because this site is literally in their backyard,” said Brown.

Organizers of the site said they have the capacity of delivering 200 shots per day, but so far, since opening up last week, they’ve administered around 100 shots each day.

7News cameras captured several people waiting outside of the site, hoping to get vaccinated if not enough seniors or healthcare workers show up.

“If there are vials that are about to expire, obviously, we don’t want those to go to waste, so we allow anyone who may be waiting outside to come in and get that vaccine,” said Castillo.

Statewide, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis expanded vaccine access to police officers, firefighters and school personnel ages 50 and above.

The new order goes into effect on Wednesday.

National Guard troops arrived at Miami Dade College’s North Campus on Tuesday morning, ahead of the vaccination site’s opening on Wednesday.

It will become a federal mass vaccination site capable of administering 2,000 doses of the vaccine a day.

“The cases and hospitalizations for seniors in Florida have plummeted as vaccinations have increased,” said DeSantis. “Since January 30, the number of seniors hospitalized for COVID has declined by 80% and cases among seniors have declined by 71%. Florida was right to prioritize the elderly. Seniors first works.”

Jackson Health System announced it will offer the vaccine to Florida residents ages 50 and older who are sworn law enforcement officers aged 50 and above, all firefighters aged 50 and above and all K-12 school personnel aged 50 and above.

Anyone 50 and above with a signed doctor’s note on the physician’s letterhead or prescription pad with a recommendation that the patient be vaccinated will also be allowed to get their vaccine dose.

For more information about vaccination sites in Florida, click here.

To check for vaccination appointment availability at Publix locations, click here.

For more information about vaccinations at Holy Cross Health and a list of the medical conditions that will qualify patients for an appointment, click here.

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