Miami-Dade County to Expand Vaccination Program for Seniors 65+ in Public Housing

This week, Miami-Dade County will expand its efforts to vaccinate vulnerable residents 65+ in County public housing. On Wednesday, a mobile vaccination team will visit the Senior Campus in Little Havana, a County public housing facility, to provide vaccines to interested residents 65+, as part of a long-term program to vaccinate seniors in public housing.

Starting in December, Miami-Dade County launched a program to vaccinate vulnerable seniors 65+ in County care. The County is directly calling residents 65+ who live in public housing or who receive county services to schedule vaccination appointments. Now, beginning this week, Miami-Dade County will expand the effort already underway to vaccinate more seniors 65+ in public housing. A mobile Miami-Dade County COVID-19 vaccination unit will visit Senior Campus to distribute vaccines directly to vulnerable seniors in public housing.

"My top priority is to get shots in arms as fast possible, and we are working hard with our limited supply to provide vaccines to vulnerable seniors 65+ under County care – both by calling them to schedule appointments, and now by setting up vaccination operation on-site at senior housing," said Mayor Daniella Levine Cava.

"Many low-income seniors do not have access to a car," said County Commissioner Eileen Higgins. "It makes no sense for them to go to a vaccine site when we can bring a life-saving vaccine to them, especially in larger apartment buildings managed by Miami-Dade County. We can vaccinate hundreds in a day."

"I am proud to collaborate with Mayor Levine Cava, Commissioner Higgins, and Miami-Dade County to expand vaccination for vulnerable residents 65+," said City of Miami Mayor Francis Suarez. "The mobile vaccination unit is an exciting step forward in our shared efforts to move vaccines as fast as we receive them from the state." 

The County manages large complexes and buildings for low-income older residents that provide an opportunity to vaccinate hundreds of seniors on-site at their homes. This week, the first large-scale mobile vaccination site will take place in Little Havana for residents living in Robert King High Towers on the County’s Senior Campus. Nearly 1,000 seniors live on the Campus, the largest public housing complex for seniors in the County.

The City of Miami provided Miami-Dade County with 1,000 vaccines from their supply to help expand this program. Miami-Dade County will contact each resident directly to make an appointment for Wednesday and explain the process.

Demand for vaccines is currently much greater than existing supply, and Mayor Levine Cave and the Board of County Commissioners are pushing urgently for more vaccines. The large mobile vaccination team is the first of its kind in the County, and Mayor Levine Cava intends to expand this effort to other large senior buildings across Miami-Dade as the County receives additional vaccines.

For more information about where vaccines are available countywide, please visit miamidade.gov/vaccine. The website is also available in Spanish at miamidade.gov/vacuna and in Haitian Creole at miamidade.gov/vaksen.