Miami-Dade opened new vaccination slots Friday. They didn’t last long
At 4 p.m. Friday, MiamiDade reopened its reservations web page for COVID-19 vaccinations. Within 25 minutes, it was closed again after booking about 2,000 appointments for vaccinations into next week.
Friday’s total of new appointments is slightly more than the 1,900 appointments made Thursday when Miami-Dade booked them in 15 minutes, the county said.
The Friday appointments were mostly for vaccines that will be injected either in the Baptist hospital system or facilities run by the state’s Department of Health, a county spokeswoman said.
“We are working closely with all our partners to make additional vaccination sites available as we receive new supplies,” Mayor Daniella Levine
Cava said in a press release.
The statement added: “Demand for vaccines is currently much greater than existing supply, and MiamiDade County along with its partners is working hard to make vaccines available to the community as fast as new supplies are received.”
Charles Levy, 26, said he was able to secure two appointment slots for his grandparents, both in their 70s. “They were really happy to hear I got them the appointment, as they’ve been scared to go out of the house much since March,” said Levy, a Miami Lakes resident who works in advertising.
Raul Vidaurre said he was frustrated with the amount of information he had to enter — and re-enter — when trying to book appointments for his parents, who are both in their 60s. He did get through and secure them a pair of slots but called the process daunting.
“My mom was trying to do it on her phone while I was on my computer,” said Vidaurre, 40, and a digital organizer for a local union. “She kept getting stuck while I was doing my dad’s, so I told her to try on her laptop. While she was doing that I was able to finish my dad’s and get through hers.”
The reservations were available at the county’s COVID-19 vaccination site, miamidade.gov/vaccine, which includes links and phone numbers for other vaccine options in MiamiDade.