Day 1 of the launch of the COVID-19 vaccine in Broward County less than a smooth navigation

DAVIE, Fla. – Don’t bother calling the Florida Department of Health in Broward County to make an appointment if you are eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine – the word from the Department of Health is that you need to make an appointment online.

This is a difficult fact, given that the website worked more often than it worked. Many people said they tried for weeks to get a date.

[RELATED: Get the details on Broward County locations: Vista View Park, Davie; Tradewinds Park, Coconut Creek, and, on Tuesday, Markham Park, Sunrise. The website address: https://browardcovidvaccine.com/ NOTE: As of 8 p.m. Sunday, the website was still not working. “We sincerely apologize. This site has been taken down for maintenance in order to serve you better. Thank You.”]

On Day 1 of the vaccination launch for people over the age of 65 and older, things were less than a smooth sailing at Vista View Park, one of two sites open on Sunday. The other was Tradewinds Park at Coconut Creek.

Hundreds of people showed up at Vista View Park and received the vaccine, while others were rejected because they had no appointments or were caught in the confusion of the site collapse.

On Sunday morning there was a short window in which the site was operating, but it soon collapsed, despite the fact that the FDOH sent a statement that the site had been returned and run.

At Vista View Park, a line of cars stretched across the park and down a side street for most of the day. The COVID-19 vaccination site opened at 8 a.m. and was scheduled to remain open until Sunday at 4 p.m.

Jonathan Tabachnikoff, a medical worker, was accompanying his 74-year-old mother, who had an online appointment.

“The line was around the corner and it took us an hour just to get to the entrance to tell us that there was a problem with the computer, but if we were okay to stay, we were welcome and it would be a few hours,” he said. said Tabachnikoff.

The two had struggled to find a date until a place was opened online this morning.

Others who showed up today were also hoping after the website had the best places collapsed repeatedly, even during the booking.

Richard Mure waited in the car and hoped that when he reached the front of the line he would be able to get vaccinated.

“The site continued to collapse, so we tried to come back, but continued to say that you can not return, you are already registered with an appointment. I hope that their technology is up to date and that they have the availability to find my name there “, said Mure.

Information from the Florida Department of Health states:

If you have previously registered you should have received an email confirmation, please check your spam or spam emails. For all future appointments, a confirmation email will be sent within 48 hours of registration.

If you try to register and find that appointments are not available, please come back frequently as we are increasing the number of vaccination sites for the elderly in Broward County in the coming weeks.

Vaccinations will be available free of charge, by appointment only. Appointments for drive-thru vaccination sites can be made at https://browardcovidvaccine.com. Appointments cannot be made by phone at this time.

Individuals receiving a first dose of COVID-19 vaccine will automatically receive an appointment for the second dose 21 days later.

In general, the launch of vaccines here and across the country has been rocky. The head of the department overseeing the program appeared on the local Sunday 10 news program, “This Week in South Florida,” and explained the difficulties.

“It’s hard to make long-term planning when you only get a 7-day look at the time of the vaccine,” said Jared Moskowitz, director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management. “There’s a lot of hesitation with suppliers on the second shot, again, because we don’t look well when the second shot comes and even if the first delivery of the second shot has arrived.”

Moskowitz said his department monitors the development of the vaccine site and all issues and will assess needs as the week goes on so that things run smoothly. this is the two-shot Pfizer vaccine that has been distributed.

The coronavirus test site at Holiday Park in Broward County is in transition to a vaccine administration site.

According to Fort Lauderdale, it is working with neighboring Oakland Park, Pompano Beach and Wilton Manors to establish a COVID-19 vaccination site.

Once started, he will be operated on by the Florida Department of Health.

(Below is the fact sheet, recipients are given before receiving the Pfizer vaccination.)