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

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Florida. – At the government-run and FEMA-supported COVID-19 vaccination site on the north campus of Miami Dade College, the official line is that if you are under 65 with underlying health problems, you need a medical certificate to take the vaccine.

But several young adults we spoke to say they got a vaccine without it.

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

Davalos said he did not have a latent health problem. He was asked if he had a medical certificate, but said no.

“Register, you get the vaccine. It’s that easy, ”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 have no underlying medical certificates or health conditions.

The couple visited the vaccine site Tuesday with their daughter, who turns 15 on Wednesday. They had heard from friends that those who worked on the website were not checking the doctor’s notes.

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“We thought that if they asked for a medical certificate, we would go home, but we wanted to take the risk because we think it is worth it,” said Lopez. “We want [our daughter] so you can see your grandparents. “

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

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

The Memorial Healthcare System and Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital have teamed up with Jackson and Nicklaus Children’s Hospital to expand vaccines for 16- and 17-year-olds. At DiMaggio, they “must be resident in Florida or seasonal and must have completed a visit to Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital’s doctor’s office in person or via telehealth, or must have visited a JDCH or Memorial Department System Emergency Department, Clinic 24 hours a day. day, 7 days a week, urgent care centers or hospitals in the last 12 months for one of the qualified high-risk medical conditions. ”For more information click here.

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As for FEMA-supported sites, Wednesday is the last day for the satellite sites in Florida City and Sweetwater before moving to new satellites in North Miami Beach and Miami Springs. The Miami Dade College North campus remains in effect. For more information on the changes, click here.

On Saturday, the Florida city website also vaccinated anyone who appeared at age 18 or older, with a medical certificate or not, because the demand for vaccines was low.

Infectious disease experts say the overall goal remains to get vaccines to help the community move closer to a version of the old normal.

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“As long as we move in that direction, we can go back to a very normal lifestyle,” said Dr. Aileen Marty of Florida International University.