NORTHWEST MIAMI-DADE, FLA. (WSVN) - Florida will allow teachers of any age to get vaccinated at any federally-supported site thanks to a new directive from President Joe Biden.
Long lines could be seen at the vaccination site at Miami-Dade College’s North Campus on Thursday, the second day the site began operating. The site administered 1,500 vaccine doses on the first day it opened. Appointments are not required at the site, but they are recommended.
“If you work or teach from pre-K to 12th grade, high school — whether you’re a teacher or a staffer or employee there — if you have your ID card, you can come to a FEMA supported site, and you can be vaccinated,” Mike Jachles, the chair of the Florida Association of Public Information Officers, said.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced the change as part of the president’s mandate requiring states to vaccinate K-12 teachers and staff. Pharmacies throughout South Florida will be doing the same.
People at MDC North’s vaccination site can choose between the two-dose Pfizer-BioNTech and single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccines. The site is open every day from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
A total of 2,800 vaccine doses were administered on Thursday out of the allotted 3,000 doses. They also ran out of the allotted Johnson & Johnson vaccine for the day, but they still had Pfizer vaccines available. The White House Coronavirus Task Force plans to double the daily amount of doses at federally-supported sites to 6,000.
Florida will also allow anyone over 18 years old with serious underlying health conditions to receive the vaccine if they fill out a form signed by a physician.
“So, if you’re 65 and over, if you meet the other criteria — firefighter, law enforcement 50 and over, or a schoolteacher or employee ages 18 and over, or the medically vulnerable with a form — you can come here, get vaccinated and hopefully, get in and out of here very quickly,” Jachles said.
Octavia Edwards has been a teacher for over 20 years, and she hopes receiving the vaccine will help things return to normal.
“I heard through a family member,” Edwards said. “She called, and she said, ‘Governor DeSantis just opened it up for all teachers,’ so I was excited and came right over. That will help teachers to feel more comfortable going into the school, and it will also help parents to also feel more comfortable knowing the teachers are vaccinated, and their kids are safe with us.”
“I just left school, drove right here, kind of got here, took about 40 minutes from getting in line to getting the shot and walking out,” teacher Joseph Goodman said. “It was super quick and easy.”
DeSantis is working to expand access and eligibility to anyone who wants to receive the vaccine in the state.
“We are going to do even more Walgreens in the coming weeks,” he said. “I think that will be particularly important when we get to a point where we can lower the age to below 65, which is going to happen relatively soon, certainly this month.”
“I can’t even express how excited and happy I am,” Marla Gelbard, who got vaccinated on Thursday, said. “Time is life, and this is a way back to life.”
For veterans in Miami-Dade, Broward and Monroe counties, the Miami VA Healthcare System announced they are providing the COVID-19 vaccine to all veterans, regardless of age. No appointments are required, but officials recommend people book one.
At the Sweetwater and Florida City mobile sites, just under half of the allotted 1,000 vaccines were distributed on Thursday.
Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava is expected to visit the federally-supported site on Friday.
“We’re super excited,” she said. “The feds have come to town. We’ve got so much more vaccine. There is hope. There is light at the end. We hope that everybody will be vaccinated by May, and we can get back to some kind of normalcy, but we need to stay protected.”
The mayor added the county is getting close to vaccinating 50,000 per week.
For those who want to make sure they get a dose when they arrive, officials said people can pre-register for an appointment through Florida’s statewide registration system at myvaccine.fl.gov or by calling Miami-Dade County’s designated scheduling hotline at 888-499-0840.
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