Younger patients without medical records receive COVID-19 vaccines at Miami Dade College

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – At the FEMA-supported state-run COVID-19 vaccination site on the North Miami Dade College campus, the official line is that if you are under 65 with underlying health conditions, you need a doctor’s note to get a chance.

But a few young adults I spoke to say they got a vaccine without it.

“I think it’s great that people are getting vaccinated so we can get back to life as before,” said Sebastian Davalos, 22.

Davalos said he did not have an underlying health condition. He was asked if he had a doctor’s note, but said he did not.

“Register, you get the vaccine. It’s as easy as that, “he said.

Local 10 News also spoke with Stephany Lopez, 29, and her husband, David Marquez, 28

“They asked for our license and that’s it,” said Marquez, who acknowledged that he and his wife did not have medical records or health conditions underlying them.

The couple was at the vaccine site on Tuesday with their daughter, who turns 15 on Wednesday. They had heard from friends that those who work on the site do not check the doctor’s notes.

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“We thought that if they asked for the doctor’s note, we would go home, but we wanted to take the risk, because we think it’s worth it,” Lopez said. “We want [our daughter] to be able to see their grandparents ”.

Some people waited for hours to secure a parking spot at the Miami Dade College vaccine site on Tuesday, but said the actual process from registration to dose administration took less than an hour. The site can take about 3,000 photos daily.

On Monday, Jackson Jackson Health System announced separately that it will expand access to vaccines and will not require documentation for people who say they have a high-risk condition.

Memorial Healthcare System and Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital have joined Jackson and Nicklaus Children’s Hospital in expanding vaccinations to 16- and 17-year-old patients. At DiMaggio, they “must be Florida residents or seasonal residents and must have made a personal visit to a Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital or a telehealth visit, or must have visited an emergency department of the JDCH or Memorial Healthcare System, 24 / 7 care centers or hospitals in the last 12 months for one of the high-risk medical conditions. For more information, click here.

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As for FEMA-supported sites, Wednesday is the last day for satellite sites in Florida City and Sweetwater before they move to new satellites in North Miami Beach and Miami Springs. The Miami Dade College North Campus site remains in place. For more information about the changes, click here.

On Saturday, the Florida City vaccine site also appeared on anyone who was 18 or older, with a doctor’s note or not, because the demand for shots was low.

Infectious disease experts say the overall goal remains to get photos in their arms to help the community get closer to a version of the old normal.

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“As long as we move in that direction, we can be in a position to return to a fairly normal lifestyle,” said Dr. Aileen Marty of the International University of Florida.