Millions sign up on vaccine registration site

The state’s new COVID-19 vaccine registration website is in big demand — drawing more than 2.4 million people to sign up for notifications on appointments.

The state’s website myvaccine.fl.gov kicked off last month, giving the public updates on when appointments are available at state-run COVID-19 vaccine sites near them.

South Florida, one of the state’s most populous regions, accounts for more than 20% of the state’s total signups, with over 491,000 people registering in the tri-county area as of last week, according to the latest figures made available by the state. About 266,000 people have signed up in Broward, 135,000 have registered in Miami-Dade, and 90,000 have signed up in Palm Beach County.

The website, which launched Jan. 29, allows people to be contacted by phone, text or email to schedule an appointment when they are available. Run by the Florida Division of Emergency Management, the website does not include other sign-up initiatives, such as hospital districts or the one that Publix is offering.

While you can register for the site, it may take weeks before you’re able to schedule an appointment.

Palm Beach County is still working through a separate list that began with 173,000 people and is now down to 30,000.

The county plans on finishing the initial wait list before moving on to the statewide system. That should take at least another month, a spokeswoman for the Palm Beach County Healthcare District said.

Over 249,000 people of all ages in Palm Beach County have received at least one dose of the vaccine, state records show, equating to 17% of the population. That includes 202,000 individuals who are at least 65. Palm Beach County has over 400,000 residents who are 65 or older.

In Broward, over 229,000 people have received at least one dose of the vaccine, while in Miami-Dade over 268,000 have been inoculated.

LAUDERDALE LAKES — A four-day manhunt ended Sunday morning when the body of a man being sought by law enforcement was found floating in a Lauderdale Lakes canal, according to the Broward Sheriff’s Office.

Rashad Stevenson, 23, was sought for his alleged role in the shooting death of Ricky Burton, 29.

Sunday morning, a nearby resident called authorities to report what they thought was a body in the canal.

Upon their arrival around 8:15 a.m. deputies found Stevenson’s body, a sheriff ’s office spokeswoman said in a statement.

It all started Thursday when deputies responded to calls about a shooting near the 4200 block of Northwest 38th Terrace.

They found Burton with a gunshot wound and he was taken to a nearby hospital, where he died of his injuries.

Investigators had been searching for Stevenson, although the sheriff ’s office did not say how he became a suspect.

Sunday morning, a resident reported a body floating in the canal near the 3700 block of Northwest 41st Street, about a thousand feet from the location of Thursday’s shooting.

Investigators, Sunday afternoon, identified the body as Stevenson’s and said he was the suspect in that deadly shooting from Thursday.

Family could not be located for Burton or Stevenson on Sunday afternoon.

A spokeswoman for the Broward Medical Examiner’s Office said preliminary autopsy results for Stevenson were pending.

No other information was immediately available and both deaths are still under investigation.