Broward Mayor Steve Geller is hoping that county officials can administer the COVID-19 vaccine to all seniors, over the age of 65, in the county by early March.
The state’s vaccination program continues even as some of the major sites reporting limited supplies.
Last week, South Florida’s largest COVID-19 testing location, the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, was converted into a vaccination site. The stadium takes 1,000 vaccination appointments per day, in addition to its usual COVID-19 testing. The site was, however, closed early on Monday to facilitate the college football National Championship game.
Elsewhere in the state, Baptist Health South Florida, the Cleveland Clinic, Broward Health, and other locations in Broward have stopped scheduling appointments due to the overwhelming demand. Broward residents are urged to keep checking for additional slots in the coming weeks. Other drive-thru vaccination locations are also open in the county.
Mayor of Broward County, Steve Geller estimated that it could be another six to eight weeks before all seniors in the county could be vaccinated, but he stressed: “if, and only if, we have enough vaccines coming in.”
On the recommendation of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, churches and other places of worship began offering the COVID-19 vaccines over the weekend.
The Koinonia Worship Center in Pembroke Park and the Mt. Hermon AME church in Fort Lauderdale were among the dozens of churches in the state to host vaccination drives on Sunday. The appointment slots were filled quickly. DeSantis said there were 50 places of worship that are participating in the effort statewide.
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Gov. Ron DeSantis acknowledged the demand for vaccines on Sunday while at a similar event in the Florida panhandle.
“If you can’t get in now, just hang in there, because not only is there going to be more opportunities in the future, we get more vaccine in the short term (and) we want to get that out,” he said. “And so, you may be able to sign up very soon.”
