Pfizer vaccine booster now available at drive-thru, walk-up sites in Miami-Dade
People 65 and older and other high-risk groups can now get Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine booster at all of the drive-thru and walk-up sites run by Miami-Dade County.
“The booster is a critical tool in our ongoing fight to protect the most vulnerable from COVID — and if the last 18 months have taught us anything, it’s that we must continue to take all the steps possible to keep ourselves and our loved ones safe,” Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said in a Friday news release.
People eligible for the booster can get the shot at least six months after completing Pfizer’s two-dose series. Anyone who received the Moderna or Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines is not eligible.
Besides seniors and longterm care facility residents, anyone 18 and older who has a health condition that makes them high-risk for severe COVID illness can get the booster. That includes people diagnosed with asthma, diabetes and obesity.
People 18 and older who work or live in a place that makes them high-risk for being exposed to COVID-19 and falling ill with the disease can also get the shot.
This includes first responders, healthcare workers and educators. Food and agriculture workers, correction workers and inmates, public-transit workers, grocery-store workers and residents of homeless shelters are also eligible.
People who want to get Pfizer’s booster at a county-run site will need to bring a valid photo ID and show proof (CDC vaccination card or immunization record) that they have completed Pfizer’s twodose series.
Some of the drive-thru sites that do have the booster include Tropical Park, Dolphin Mall and Zoo Miami. Some of the walkup sites offering boosters include Aventura Mall, the Miami Beach Convention Center and the Stephen P. Clark Government Center in downtown Miami.
A few county-run sites are also offering boosters both by drive-thru and walk-up, such as Miami Dade College North Campus and Jose Marti Park in Miami.
Some of the sites don’t require appointments but recommend them, and others require them.
To find a site near you, its hours of operation and information on which vaccine it has and if an appointment is required, visit miamidade.gov/vaccine.
WHERE ELSE CAN YOU GET A PFIZER COVID BOOSTER?
The Florida Department of Health in Broward County is also offering the booster dose at all of its drive-thru and walk-up sites. The sites don’t take appointments. To find a site, visit www.broward. org/CoronaVirus/Pages/ Vaccination-Sites.aspx
The Pfizer booster is also available through retail pharmacies, including Publix, Walgreens, CVS, Winn-Dixie and Walmart.
If you want to get your shot at a store in Florida, keep in mind that it will depend on availability. To schedule an appointment or to check a specific store’s availability, visit the retailer’s website.
Michelle Marchante: 305-376-2708, @TweetMichelleM