COVID vaccine live updates: What you should know in South Florida on Friday, Jan. 22

COVID-19 vaccines are now available in South Florida, and the rules on who can get a shot, where and when can be confusing.

Here’s what you need to know:

What’s new today?

▪ Anyone who wants to receive a vaccine against the novel coronavirus in Florida now must prove they are a resident of the state, according to a new emergency public health declaration signed Thursday by Florida Surgeon General Scott Rivkees. Exceptions: health care workers who are working directly with patients. Non-residents who have already received their first dose in Florida will also be able to get their second dose in the state.

▪ Colleges and universities in South Florida, including the University of Miami, Florida International University, Miami Dade College and Broward College are among those who are pining for the COVID-19 vaccine. Some schools have applied to be a vaccination site. Others are working to secure appointments for their employees.

▪ What’s it like to get your COVID-19 vaccine at Publix? It’s similar to how you get the flu shot at the pharmacy, except there are no gift cards and you must have an appointment.

▪ All Miami-Dade County Public Schools employees 65 and older, including part-time workers, will soon be able to get COVID-19 vaccines through Jackson Health System, the school district said. Vaccinations are set to begin this weekend. Employees have begun to receive emails, calls, texts and information from their supervisors on how to pre-register for an appointment at one of Jackson’s three locations, the district said.

▪ Missed your shot at booking a COVID-19 vaccine appointment at Publix? Slots open again Friday for seniors 65 and older at publix.com/covid-vaccine/florida. Publix pharmacies in Miami-Dade and Broward counties still don’t carry the vaccines. Since Florida only requires proof of state residency, this means seniors can travel to Palm Beach, Monroe or another county to get the shot.

▪ The Miami VA Healthcare System is offering COVID-19 vaccines through Friday for veterans 65 and over who are already patients. As with all vaccine sites so far, this is a while-supplies-last situation. And, most notably — no appointments necessary. Veterans 65 and older can just walk-in.

▪ State statistics released this week show that Miami-Dade and Broward counties are vaccinating Black residents at a slower rate than white residents. The lack of access for Black people comes even though the Black population, especially older Black men, are known to suffer disproportionately high death rates from COVID.

Officials say the racial vaccination disparity is because of a variety of factors, including the posting of vaccine availability on social media and historical mistrust in the county’s Black communities.

▪ The Florida Department of Health in Broward County will be closing the Holiday Park vaccination site on Saturday and reopening it at Snyder Park on Jan. 26.

Who can get COVID-19 vaccines in Florida and who cannot? Do you need proof of residency?

Florida is giving vaccines to healthcare workers, long-term care facility residents and staff, and people 65 and older, including snowbirds. Hospitals can also choose to give the vaccine to people with health conditions that make them “at risk” of falling seriously ill with the disease.

There is now a statewide residency requirement in place. This means if you live in Miami-Dade, you can get the vaccine in Broward or vice versa. Anyone who lives in another state or country can no longer get the vaccine in Florida. Non-residents who have already received the vaccine in Florida will still be able to get the second dose.

The change was made Thursday to curb vaccine tourism, or people who travel from another state or country to get the vaccine in Miami or another part of the state.

Who should not get a COVID-19 vaccine: People who have had a severe allergic reaction to ingredients in the vaccine or had a severe reaction after a previous dose. Ingredients of the Pfizer-BioNTech and the Moderna vaccines can be found on FDA.gov.

How many people have received the COVID-19 vaccine in Florida?

According to the state’s Thursday COVID-19 vaccine report, 1,183,012 people have been vaccinated in Florida — with 123,971 people having completed the series of two doses of either Pfizer or Moderna vaccines.

Of those who completed the two dose vaccination, 19,893 were Miami-Dade residents, 15,838 were Broward residents and 279 were Monroe residents.

What COVID-19 vaccines are available in Florida? How many doses do I need?

Florida has two vaccines available: Pfizer BioNTech and Moderna.

The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine requires two shots, three weeks apart, and can be given to people 16 and older. Moderna’s vaccine requires two shots, one month apart, and can be given to people 18 and older. Neither vaccine will give you COVID-19.

The two vaccines are not interchangeable, however, which means that if your first shot was the Pfizer vaccine, your second shot cannot be the Moderna vaccine, according to the CDC.

COVID-19 vaccination sites in South Florida?

Publix has vaccines available in select Florida counties. South Florida, which has been hit hardest during the pandemic, is not among the locations. That might change in the future. Walgreens, CVS, Winn-Dixie, Walmart and other pharmacies will also eventually have vaccines in stock.

For now, here are your options in South Florida:

Miami-Dade County:

The county has a website, miamidade.gov/vaccine, where posts updates on where seniors, and eventually the rest of the general public, will be able to find and schedule COVID-19 vaccination appointments.

The county schedules appointments through the website for vaccination sites including Zoo Miami, Tropical Park, at the Baptist hospital system and at facilities run by the state’s Department of Health. However, a planned pause in Florida’s vaccine deliveries could also cause Zoo Miami and Tropical Park to shut down sometime this week. (Jackson Health has its own appointment system; see below.)

At the moment, here are the other places offering vaccines:

▪ Miami VA Healthcare System is offering COVID-19 vaccines through Friday for veterans 65 and over who are already patients. As with all vaccine sites so far, this is a while-supplies-last situation. For appointments, call 305-575-7000 or contact your care team. Vets can also just walk-in.

If you receive care at Bruce W. Carter VA Medical Center; Flagler Street VA Clinic or Homestead VA Clinic, get your vaccine at the Bruce W. Carter VA Medical Center, 1201 NW 16th St. in Miami, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

If you receive care at the William “Bill” Kling VA Clinic; Hollywood VA Clinic; Pembroke Pines VA Clinic; or Deerfield VA Clinic, get vaccinated at the William “Bill” Kling VA Clinic, 9800 W. Commercial Blvd. in Sunrise, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

▪ Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach is no longer booking appointments and has canceled all first-dose appointments for Jan. 23 and later because of supply constraints. Second-dose appointments are not affected. To check for updates, visit msmc.com/coronavirus-update/

▪ Jackson Health System, the county’s public hospital network, has launched an online portal for people 65 and older to schedule vaccine appointments. To check for available appointments, visit https://jhsmiami.org/comvac/.

▪ Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens is providing vaccinations by appointment to seniors and front-line healthcare workers. Appointments filled up quickly. By calling 888-499-0840 or the TTY line at 888-256-8918, you can sign up for an update on when vaccination slots will be open again.

▪ Marlins Park in Miami, a popular COVID-19 testing site, also has vaccines. For now, there is no municipal residency requirement, which means you do not need to live within the city limits to be vaccinated. Miami Mayor Francis Suarez wants to change that. To schedule an appointment, call 1-888-499-0840. The number for the hearing impaired is 1-888-256-8918.

▪ Baptist Health, one of the county’s largest private hospitals, is no longer booking appointments and has canceled all first-dose appointments from Jan. 20 and beyond because of supply constraints. Second dose appointments are not affected. To check for updates, visit Baptisthealth.net/vaccine.

▪ Seniors 65 and older who seek care with Leon Medical Centers can call customer service at 305-642-5366 to schedule a free COVID-19 vaccination appointment. If you need transportation, let the operator know so they can also schedule a driver to pick you up. Appointments will be scheduled until Leon runs out of vaccines.

▪ Pasteur and Wellmax Medical Centers are hoping to offer COVID-19 vaccines soon to seniors, including non-members. Both clinics are still waiting to receive vaccines.

▪ Florida International University has applied to be a vaccination site. The university also received Moderna doses to vaccinate FIU faculty and staff 65 and older as well as FIU healthcare workers who have direct contact with patients. Vaccinations began Wednesday.

▪ Miami-Dade County has begun contacting homebound seniors age 65 and older who live in county facilities or receive county services to offer vaccination appointments.

▪ Miami Beach has begun administering COVID-19 vaccines to some seniors living in affordable housing or who are confined to their homes.

Broward County:

▪ Broward Health, the hospital network, has filled all of its vaccination appointments through February. However, it is working to schedule appointments at Fort Lauderdale’s Inter Miami CF Stadium. More on that below:

▪ Fort Lauderdale’s Inter Miami CF Stadium is now a COVID-19 vaccination site. Seniors 65 and older, office staff of Broward Health-credentialed physicians and other healthcare providers and their office staff can request an appointment online at BrowardHealth.org and a Broward Health scheduler will then respond to finish the appointment booking.

▪ Memorial Healthcare System ran out of COVID-19 vaccines again. Once doses are available again, appointments can be made through the MyChart portal, https://mychart.mhs.net for current Memorial Healthcare patients. Others will have to call 954-276-4340.

The appointment-only vaccine locations listed in the website above are:

The Memorial Regional Conference Center, 3501 Johnson St. in Hollywood, noon to 7:30 p.m. Mondays, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Tuesday through Friday.

Memorial Specialty Pharmacy, 9581 Premier Pkwy. in Miramar, 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

▪ The Florida Department of Health in Broward County has changed its scheduling process. Instead of requesting an appointment online, front-line healthcare workers and seniors 65 and older can now call 866-201-6313. The number for the hearing impaired is 833-476-1526.

Apppointments are available at the numbers above for the following locations:

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

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

Markham Park & Target Range, 16001 W. State Road 84 in Sunrise

Holiday Park and War Memorial in Fort Lauderdale, a former COVID-19 testing site that reopened as a vaccine site, will be closing on Jan. 23. It will be moved to Snyder Park, 3299 SW 4th Ave., and reopen on Jan. 26.

Central Broward Park and Broward County Stadium, 3700 NW 11th Pl. in Lauderhill.

Coral Square Mall in Coral Springs.

▪ All Cleveland Clinic Florida locations, including its Weston campus, have run out of vaccination appointments for now. Cleveland Clinic said it will resume scheduling appointments through its website for current patients once it gets more doses. To check for slots, visit https://my.clevelandclinic.org/landing/covid-19-vaccine/florida

Monroe County:

Blaming the state for an “unanticipated lag” in delivering additional COVID-19 vaccines to the Keys, the Florida Department of Health in Monroe County last week announced a delay in launching a website and call center for vaccine registration.

So far, the doses the health department received prior to the delivery lag have been used to vaccinate healthcare workers and people 65 and older with special needs by appointment-only. People in long-term facilities and nursing homes in Monroe are also being vaccinated by CVS and Walgreens.

For seniors in the general population, it’s still a waiting game on when they’ll be able to schedule their vaccination appointment.

However, you can try your luck at the Publix stores in Islamorada and Key West. Both stores have a limited number of appointments available Friday at publix.com/covid-vaccine/florida