Miami-Dade opens five new COVID vaccine, testing sites as cases continue to surge

Devoun Cetoute
·2 min read
At Tropical Park, which serves as a drive-thru COVID testing and vaccine site, the line of cars went up to the park’s entrance at Southwest 79 Avenue and Bird Road Thursday morning, July 22, 2021.
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Miami-Dade County is escalating coronavirus prevention, opening five new mobile vaccine and testing sites as COVID-19 case numbers reach levels not seen since the height of the pandemic.

With virus positivity and hospitalizations increasing along with the growing threat of new variants, especially the Delta, Miami-Dade and Nomi Health are working to expand vaccination and testing, the county said.

“We are extremely concerned about this new wave of COVID cases in Miami-Dade,” Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said in a statement. “The numbers are very clear: the vast majority of those who end up in the hospital due to COVID are unvaccinated.”

On Friday, the Florida Department of Health announced 73,166 new resident cases of COVID-19 since July 16, significantly escalating the current surge of cases.

This newest batch of cases is more than seven times as many as were reported in mid-June.

Miami-Dade, which represents about 10 percent of the state’s population, is accounting for about 15 percent of the state’s new cases, based on Friday’s report.

“We are calling on all those who are still unvaccinated to get the shot as soon as possible to protect themselves and their loved ones,” Levine Cava said.

At these new mobile sites, Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines will be offered. To register for vaccinations fill out the necessary information found here; for testing register here.

The five new locations:

▪ Home Depot (in Deerwood): 11905 SW 152nd St.; Open 7 days a week, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

▪ Bay Harbor Islands’ 95th Street Park: 1185 95th St.; Open 7 days a week, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

▪ Haulover Park: 13731 Collins Ave.; Open 7 days a week, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

▪ Sunny Isles Beach Government Center: 18070 Collins Ave.; Open 7 days a week, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

▪ Home Depot (in Hialeah): 1590 West 49th St.; Open 7 days a week, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Miami-Dade is also also strongly recommending everyone wear masks in large crowds or around those they don’t know to be vaccinated, and to get tested if experiencing COVID-19 symptoms.

“We have come too far and made too much progress to go back now,” Levine Cava said.