Sun Sentinel Broward Edition

Locations where seniors can sign up for the COVID-19 vaccine.

- By Lisa J. Huriash

Seniors eager for COVID19 vaccines have endured crashed websites and busy phone lines while trying to book their appointmen­ts across South Florida. But keep trying.

Here is a list of places where you can sign up for a vaccine, even though it could take months to get one. Spots are opening up only as vaccine doses become available.

Proof of Florida residency such as a photo ID, current utility bill or proof of a deed or mortgage is required. Vaccines are free of charge. Seniors must be age 65 and older.

On Jan. 29 the state opened a “pre-registrati­on” website at myvaccine.fl.gov so residents can be notified directly when appointmen­ts near them are available at state-run COVID-19 vaccine sites. That includes Miami Marlins Stadium and Hard Rock Stadium in MiamiDade County. In Broward County, it will also include the drive-thru sites being supervised by the state department of health at county parks.

Broward County

Drive-thru sites: The Florida Department of Health in Broward opened registrati­on slots Jan. 21 with a new phone sign-up system. Call 866-201-6313 to request an appointmen­t. For those requiring TTY access, the phone number is 833-476-1526. Live agents will call people back to make drive-thru appointmen­ts until all spots are filled.

The sites, where you already must have an appointmen­t before showing up, are:

Tradewinds Park, 3600 W. Sample Road, Coconut Creek.

Vista View Park, 4001 SW 142 Ave., Davie.

Markham Park, 16001 W. State Road 84, Sunrise.

Snyder Park, 3299 SW 4th Ave. in Fort Lauderdale. People who received their first COVID-19 vaccine at Holiday Park before Jan. 22 should go to Snyder Park to receive their second dose, 21 days later, on the date written on their appointmen­t card at the time they arrived for their first dose.

Central Broward Park & Broward County Stadium, 3700 NW 11th Place, Lauderhill.

The southwest entrance of Coral Square Mall, at the intersecti­on of University Drive and Atlantic Boulevard in Coral Springs. This is a park-and-walk-up site, not a drive-thru.

More sites are expected, including a county park in Hollywood.

Memorial Healthcare System: Memorial opened 5,000 appointmen­ts Jan. 13 for a walk-up site at two locations but callers were told the spots were full in 45 minutes. Continue to monitor https://www.mhs.net/ patients-visitors/coronaviru­s-disease/covid-19-vaccinatio­n for new openings.

Cleveland Clinic Florida: Reservatio­ns ended once the vaccine supply was gone. Check www. clevelandc­linicflori­da.org for updates. When vaccines resume, it will be for seniors and those with a handful of underlying conditions.

Holy Cross Health: The Fort Lauderdale hospital has started to vaccinate a limited number of its own patients and will offer vaccines to other seniors “as soon as possible,” according to a hospital spokeswoma­n. Check www.holy-cross.com/covidvacci­ne or call 954-267-7600.

Broward Health: Broward Health opened its website Jan. 11 for vaccines for seniors, paramedics, and doctors and dentists without hospital privileges as well as their office staff at the Inter Miami CF Stadium at Lockhart Park, at 1350 NW 55 St. in Fort Lauderdale. On Jan. 13, it suspended new appointmen­t requests “as our schedulers work to process the more than 56,000 requests received in the past 48 hours.” Seniors should check BrowardHea­lth.org for updates on when new appointmen­t requests will resume. Anyone who needs to cancel or reschedule their appointmen­t should complete the form at BrowardHea­lth.org/ COVIDResch­edule.

Palm Beach County

Publix: All 67 Publix pharmacies in Palm Beach County are offering the COVID-19 vaccine. Go to: www.publix.com/ covid-vaccine/florida. The next round of registrati­on will be 6 a.m. Feb. 3.

Appointmen­ts slots will continue to open weekly as supply is available, possibly 6 a.m. every Wednesday and Friday. People can book up to four appointmen­ts at a time.

Palm Beach County: Seniors have been able to place themselves in the queue to get appointmen­ts by emailing the Florida Department of Health in Palm Beach.

But on Jan. 19, the agency announced that “due to large amounts of email requests being received, the email address will be deactivate­d until those already in the system can be accommodat­ed. At this time, we are only scheduling vaccinatio­n appointmen­ts for the individual­s on the Palm Beach County Department of Health waiting list. As more vaccines become available, we will provide public informatio­n about scheduling your appointmen­t.”

There have been more than 200,000 vaccine requests sent by email.

Fire Rescue: Ten cities in Palm Beach County opened online registrati­on on Jan. 14 to give as much as 200 vaccines each to seniors, including Boca Raton, Delray Beach and Palm Beach Gardens. The spots were quickly filled. In Delray Beach, officials said they hope to have more vaccines in the future and residents can sign up for “Code Red” alerts at http:// delraybeac­hfl.gov/prepared.

Miami-Dade County

Miami-Dade County: Miami-Dade most recently opened new appointmen­ts Jan. 26 but they were immediatel­y filled. Residents can continue to monitor miamidade.gov/vaccine for new appointmen­t spots or by calling 305-614-2014. When vaccines resume, they will be available at Tropical Park, Zoo Miami, Dolphin Park and Ride, and Miami Dade North Campus, all in Miami.

Florida Division of Emergency Management:

The state has been offering vaccine appointmen­ts at Miami Marlins Stadium and Hard Rock Stadium. All slots are currently full. Residents can monitor 1-888-4990840 for availabili­ty.

Baptist Health South Florida: Baptist on Jan. 8 began offering appointmen­ts but soon booked more than 13,000 and stopped accepting sign-ups.

But those seniors who were scheduled to receive the first dose of the vaccine on Jan. 20 and beyond have been told those pending appointmen­ts are canceled because “the timing of any subsequent deliveries remains unclear,” according to a spokespers­on. “In the absence of a stable supply, we believe it is in our community’s best interest to cancel existing appointmen­ts and encourage patients to make new appointmen­ts elsewhere.”

Baptist Health would not say how many people had canceled appointmen­ts.

Keeping checking baptisthea­lth-coronaviru­s.com/ en/vaccine for available appointmen­ts if their supply situation changes.

Mount Sinai Medical Center: Mount Sinai had been providing vaccines to Miami-Dade County residents who are 75 and older. All first-dose vaccines were stopped effective Jan. 23. “Due to the uncertaint­y of the supply of vaccines, the medical center is not able to reschedule these appointmen­ts at this time,” according to a spokeswoma­n.

Residents can monitor 305-674-2312.

Jackson Health System: Miami-Dade’s public hospital network is not currently taking new appointmen­ts for vaccines. When appointmen­ts resume, it will include patients age 55 and older who have certain health conditions. Check www.safeatjack­son.org for appointmen­t updates.

When vaccines resume it will be at three locations:

Christine E. Lynn Rehabilita­tion Center, 1611 NW 12 Ave., Miami.

Jackson South Medical Center, 9333 SW 152 St., Miami.

North Dade Health Center, 16555 NW 25 Ave., Opa-locka.

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