Coronavirus: Latin American tourists line up to get vaccinated on the beaches of Miami Beach

2021-05-12T09:29:34.697Z

The tail stretched out on the sand in the subtropical sun. Visitors were registered in an online system and shortly after they were already vaccinated and sitting under an awning, drenched with sweat and waiting for their Florida vaccination card.

05/09/2021 17:53

Clarín.com
World

Updated 05/09/2021 17:53

María traveled from Honduras with her parents.

Blanca came from Mexico.

Like them, dozens of Latin American tourists

were vaccinated

against the coronavirus this Sunday on the beach in Miami Beach, Florida, in a position that immunized travelers with the single dose of J&J.

The tail stretched out on the sand

in the subtropical midday sun

Visitors registered in an online system and soon after they were already vaccinated and sitting under an awning, drenched with sweat and waiting for their Florida state vaccination card.

"In my country [covid-19] is getting out of hand and there is not much possibility that we will soon have access to the vaccine," said María Bonilla, a 40-year-old accountant who

arrived on Saturday from Honduras with her parents , 63 and 73 years old.

Queues to get vaccinated.

AFP photo

The three of them lined up wearing masks.

"We had to make the decision to seek a solution outside the country,

" said the daughter.

The same decided Blanca Díaz, a 50-year-old woman who arrived on Friday from Mexico.

There you can get infected at any time

," he said.

"They are just beginning to vaccinate older people."

AFP also spoke with tourists from Ecuador, El Salvador and Venezuela.

The passages

The race for the vaccine is accompanied by a notable increase in the prices of air tickets.

For example, flights from Buenos Aires to Miami, which normally cost about

$ 1,000

or less, are around $ 2,000 this month.

Bonilla said he was aware of the privilege he enjoys for having been able to travel with his parents to get vaccinated.

"It is unfortunate. This

division is already being created that some have access to health and others do not

. We, thank God, can."

Democratic Commissioner David Richardson, who was overseeing the operation, said he had mixed feelings about it.

To get the Johnson & Johnson vaccine against the coronavirus.

AFP photo

"The US government

should help as many people as possible,

" he told AFP.

"My concern is that it seems that only people who can afford an airline ticket can come to the United States to get vaccinated."

But "what about the poor in South America?" The official asked, asking the US government to send vaccines to those countries "so that everyone has access to it,

not just those who can afford a plane ticket."

The temporary vaccination post

injected this Sunday 175

Johnson & Johnson

vaccines

, the favorite brand of tourists because it requires a single dose.

It is the second weekend that the city of Miami Beach installs this stand on the beach.

And it will continue to do so over the coming weekends.

The Johnson & Johnson vaccine booths on the beach.

AFP photo

Richardson said that he was authorized in the morning to provide this vaccine to

all people over 18

, regardless of their place of residence.

In theory, Florida only vaccinates people who reside in the state or who indicate - verbally - that they offer a service here.

For ten days, it is no longer necessary to show a residence document to prove it.

This flexibility was implemented

to stimulate the vaccination of undocumented people, although in fact it also facilitates the arrival of more tourists.

The previous restrictions did not prevent vaccine tourism anyway.

Since January,

wealthy Latin Americans had been

creatively

bypassing

the already eliminated residency requirement.

They did so by showing bank accounts with an address in the United States or temporary rental contracts, from Airbnb for example, that were immediately canceled.

More than nine million people -

43% of a total of 21.5 million residents

- have received at least one dose of the vaccine in Florida, according to the Department of Health.

"At this point, the people who haven't been vaccinated certainly haven't been due to unavailability," Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said Monday.

Source: AFP

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