Miami Herald

Miami-Dade County website helps seniors schedule COVID-19 vaccine appointmen­ts

- BY MICHELLE MARCHANTE mmarchante@miamiheral­d.com Miami Herald Staff Writers Ben Conarck and Douglas Hanks contribute­d to this report. Michelle Marchante: 305-376-2708, @TweetMiche­lleM

Miami-Dade County has created a website to help seniors, and eventually the rest of the general public, find and schedule COVID-19 vaccinatio­n appointmen­ts.

The website, miamidade.gov/vaccine, went live Wednesday and provides informatio­n on who is currently allowed to get the COVID-19 vaccine in Florida, where vaccines are available in the county and how people can schedule a vaccinatio­n.

Currently, Florida is giving vaccines to healthcare workers, long-term care facility residents and staff, and people 65 and older, including snowbirds.

Vaccinatio­n sites opened across the state this week and will open this weekend in Broward County. In Miami-Dade, the Florida Department of Health is still finalizing its vaccinatio­n plan, which means that for now, the places where people can get COVID-19 vaccines are limited.

WHERE CAN YOU GET A COVID-19 VACCINE IN MIAMI-DADE?

Mount Sinai Medical ●

Center in Miami Beach is scheduling appointmen­ts for first responders and people 75 and older. The hospital will eventually expand its vaccinatio­n target group to people 65 and older.

To make an appointmen­t, call 305-674-2312 Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday through Sunday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. The phone line will be closed on New Year’s Day.

Jackson Health System is expected to open an online platform next week for people 65 and older to request a vaccinatio­n appointmen­t and receive a call back with the appointmen­t date and time.

The hospital had initially planned to only offer the vaccine to Miami-Dade County residents but changed course after Jared Moskowitz — director of the state’s Division of Emergency Management, which is in charge of distributi­ng vaccines in Florida — reiterated on Wednesday that hospitals shouldn’t be requiring proof of residency or considerin­g it when scheduling appointmen­ts.

Miami-Dade County is ● also in the process of contacting homebound seniors 65 and older who live in county facilities or receive county services to see if they want to schedule a vaccinatio­n appointmen­t. Vaccinatio­ns are set to begin Monday.

The county says its website will be updated as more sites become available and will eventually expand to include vaccinatio­n locations for other members of the general public.

And if you don’t mind driving to Broward, you can also check browardcov­idvaccine.com for appointmen­ts.

 ?? JOSE A. IGLESIAS jiglesias@elnuevoher­ald.com ?? A nurse prepares to start vaccinatio­ns for front-line healthcare workers at the Hilton Dadeland Hotel next to Baptist Hospital on Dec. 16. Seniors who want to be vaccinated can go to miamidade.gov/vaccine to see where vaccines are available and to schedule a vaccinatio­n.
JOSE A. IGLESIAS jiglesias@elnuevoher­ald.com A nurse prepares to start vaccinatio­ns for front-line healthcare workers at the Hilton Dadeland Hotel next to Baptist Hospital on Dec. 16. Seniors who want to be vaccinated can go to miamidade.gov/vaccine to see where vaccines are available and to schedule a vaccinatio­n.

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