Broward Health Opens COVID-19 Vaccination Site At Inter Miami CF Stadium In Fort Lauderdale
FORT LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami) - The latest vaccine mega-site opened up shop at the Inter Miami CF Soccer Stadium in Fort Lauderdale.
It's offering the Pfizer shot to seniors and those in health care.
"I'm 73 I'm a diabetic it's a God Sent for me," said Raul Barrio after getting his shot.
Helen Dilberakis came with her daughter Sophia to get the shot and she's grateful. "She's 101 and she got her vaccine today," said Sophia.
This is Helen's second time living through a pandemic. She was born during the pandemic of 1918. "(I'm) excited because I don't want to be sick," Helen laughed.
Broward Health, along with the city of Fort Lauderdale and Inter Miami CF are running the site.
It has already drawn a lot of interest.
"As of today, we've had over 30,000 online requests. We scheduled about 1,500 as of this morning," said Dr. Aldo Calvo from Broward Health. He tells us they're doing as many vaccinations as they can. They're expecting to get more vaccine doses — so they can give more shots.
"As of today, we're doing 500 per day. We hope to be able to scale that more in the future upwards of about a thousand per day. And we will work with the state to make sure we'll have enough vaccine supply," Dr. Calvo said.
Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis said having this new mega vaccination site will help get life back to normal. "Let's get on with the business of trying to defeat the COVID virus," Mayor Trantalis said.
"Let's forget about pettiness and politics. Let's not make this a political issue. People of my community are dying. The people of your communities are dying. We can not continue to let this happen anymore," he said.
Seniors getting the shot are excited knowing this is a game-changer for them.
"Besides the safety of the community, the world at large, it means we can go see our children grandchildren and get hugs and kisses," said a smiling Eleanor Morris after getting her shot.
Those wanting to be vaccinated must meet the following criteria and pre-register to be eligible for vaccination:
- People ages 65 and over.
- Office staff of Broward Health's credentialed physicians.
- EMS.
- Non-credentialed community healthcare providers who do not have access to the vaccine, as well as their office staff.
People who are eligible must register at BrowardHealth.org. Click on "Request an Online Appointment" to complete and submit the necessary vaccination request form. Broward Health schedulers will respond to requests in the order they were received.
No walk-ups will be accepted.
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"As one of the first health systems in the region to offer COVID-19 vaccinations to the community, Broward Health was proud of the public's response," said Aldo Calvo, D.O., medical director of ambulatory services, Broward Health. "Demand for the vaccine has been great, and we are pleased to partner with the City of Fort Lauderdale and Inter Miami CF to expand our capacity."
"We are grateful to be in a position to support the City of Fort Lauderdale's vaccination efforts and begin flipping the page of this pandemic chapter for our community," said Inter Miami CF Managing Owner Jorge Mas. "We hope our facilities continue to evolve into long-term, versatile venues that serve South Florida from both the entertainment and public resources perspectives for decades to come."
The vaccinations are free.
Those who receive a vaccination will need to return in three weeks for a second dose to get the most protection the vaccine has to offer against this serious disease.