All Floridians 18 and older now eligible for COVID-19 vaccine

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — All Florida residents ages 18 and older are now eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.

"We're ready to take this step," Gov. Ron DeSantis said earlier this month. "We want to keep up that momentum as we expand eligibility to other age groups throughout the state of Florida."

Palm Beach County Mayor Dave Kerner spoke about what the new eligibility requirements mean for residents.

"80% of our population of Palm Beach County is 18 or older. So that's, I don't know, 1.2 million people would be vaccine-eligible here in Palm Beach County," Kerner said. "So that's a very large demographic."

Now with all adults eligible, the Health Care District of Palm Beach County knows that scheduling will be a challenge.

"We have pushed it to the limits and it has gotten the job done," said Darcy Davis, the CEO of the Health Care District. "But we recognize the need to constantly adapt and respond to enhance our customers' experience."

The Florida Department of Health is also allowing16 and 17-year-olds to receive the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine under the new eligibility rules.

Residents who are 16 and 17 will need to have a form signed by their parents to authorize them to get the shot, or be accompanied by a parent to a vaccination site.

In Palm Beach County, hundreds were lucky to find out about a state pop-up site on Monday at the Palm Beach Outlets offering the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. About 400 people drove up and signed up to get a J&J shot on the spot.

"We crossed our fingers and showed up and was grateful to have gotten it," said Corey Kubber. 33.

Kubber became eligible on Monday to receive the vaccine per the governor’s age expansion. He was nervous it would take some time to find an appointment to get it.

"Thankfully, there was a lot of helpful Facebook groups. I was able to find a lot of volunteers suggesting where to go," Kubber said.

To help you prepare for Monday's milestone, WPTV has put together an in-depth guide for where you can sign up for the vaccine.

FLORIDA'S REGISTRATION WEBSITE

Floridians are encouraged to pre-register for the vaccine on a state-operated website called MyVaccineFlorida by clicking here. You'll then be contacted when a vaccine appointment is available in your area.

PUBLIX

Publix is currently booking appointments every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday starting at 7 a.m.

Appointments made on Monday and Friday are for the Moderna vaccine, and those booked on Wednesday are for the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

To book a COVID-19 vaccine appointment at Publix, click here.

OTHER PHARMACIES

You can currently receive the COVID-19 vaccine in Florida at CVS, Walgreens, Walmart, Sam's Club, and Winn-Dixie pharmacies as well. Appointments at those places can be made at any time, provided there are appointment slots available.

To make an appointment at CVS, click here.

To make an appointment at Walgreens, click here.

To make an appointment at Walmart and Sam's Club, click here.

To make an appointment at Winn Dixie, click here.

FEDERAL VACCINATION SITES

Four federally-operated vaccination sites throughout the state of Florida do not require an appointment. The sites are open seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Each site can administer up to 3,000 doses of the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine per day, and are scheduled to remain open until May 26. The sites are located at:

Miami-Dade College's North Campus
11380 Northwest 27th Avenue
Miami, FL 33167

Gateway Mall
5200 Norwood Avenue
Jacksonville, FL 32208

Tampa Greyhound Track
755 East Waters Avenue
Tampa, FL 33604

Valencia College's West Campus
1800 South Kirkman Road
Orlando, FL 32811

For more information about the federal vaccination sites, as well as additional state-run sites in our area, click here.

HEALTH CARE DISTRICT OF PALM BEACH COUNTY

The Health Care District of Palm Beach County is now vaccinating eligible residents by appointment only at three locations: South Florida Fairgrounds near West Palm Beach, South Florida Civic Center in west Delray Beach, and the Burns Road Community Center in Palm Beach Gardens. The sites offer both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.

The Health Care District has launched a self-scheduling tool that allows you to make an appointment at any time in real-time, provided that slots are open.
To make an appointment through the Health Care District of Palm Beach County, click here.

WEST PALM BEACH

The city of West Palm Beach has opened a ProtectWPB mass vaccination site at the Mary V. McDonald Wilson Center at Gaines Park, located at 1501 North Australian Avenue.

The site will administer the Moderna vaccine every week on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. by appointment only. The location will operate through July.

To make an appointment, click here or call 561-200-3687.

TREASURE COAST

In St. Lucie County, appointments for vaccine events at the Havert L. Fenn Center on April 13 and 14 are still available.

Martin County is pre-registering anyone 18 and older for vaccine appointments.