You want a COVID vaccine appointment today or tomorrow? Here’s where and when to check

Jackson Health System doesn’t know how many COVID-19 vaccine appointment slots it will have available each day. And it’s common sense that Jackson’s online sign-up system or any online sign-up system can be a well of vexation for some senior citizens.

But if you’re a Miami-Dade resident 65 or over and want to make a COVID vaccine appointment that’s not a week or two in the future (and seems even longer), circling like a hawk on Jackson’s appointments offers two advantages: You have a general idea of when the slots will open up and, if you get one, it will be for the same day or the next day.

You just need to have your information and someone with fast fingers ready to go in the morning or during prime-time.

When do vaccine appointment slots come open?

While Baptist Health and Mount Sinai have canceled first-shot appointments and stopped accepting appointments, Monday was the seventh day of the last eight that Jackson has offered appointments. On three of those days (with Monday still pending), slots were declared open twice a day — once during the morning and once during the evening.

“We are committed to never canceling an appointment due to lack of supply,” Jackson said in an emailed statement Monday. “To give more members of our community an opportunity to book these high-in-demand appointment slots and to prevent vaccine tourism, we are opening the appointment platform at different times of the day.”

Jackson sends an alert on its Twitter feed that you can start making appointments at its site “within the next 15 minutes.” In the morning, that alert has been coming from 8 a.m. to 8:55 a.m. At night, it’s been coming from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Note that says “within the next 15 minutes” and not “15 minutes from now.” Monday morning, the site was taking appointments three minutes after the alert. Spots fill up in 15 to 25 minutes.

When are the vaccine appointments?

If you make an appointment during the morning sign-up period, it will either be for that day or the next day. If you make an appointment during the night sign-up period, it will be for the next day.

“Jackson receives vaccine on a weekly basis, and the allocation has fluctuated each week,” a Jackson spokesman said in an emailed statement. “We are opening vaccine appointment slots a few days in advance when we have confirmed the amount of vaccine we will be receiving.”

Where are the vaccine appointments?

Appointments are at one of three locations:

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

North Dade Health Center, 16555 NW 25th Ave., Miami Gardens

Jackson South Medical Center, 9333 SW 152nd St., Kendall

Can’t make a COVID vaccine appointment by computer? Here’s where you can call instead

All travelers to U.S., no matter where they’re coming from, need negative COVID-19 test