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Mayor’s Message

fter so many months of being hunkered down and trying our best to follow
strict health protocols, the arrival of vaccines to fight COVID-19 has been
A welcome news. Now, we must address the challenges presented by a mass
rollout of the vaccines.
We have seen the initial challenges faced by the state health department and our
hospital systems – limited supplies of the vaccine and overwhelmed phone lines and
web sites as so many sought appointments. People have a right to expect better results.
Although the distribution of the vaccine is being overseen by the state, the city of
Fort Lauderdale has stepped forward to help find solutions. I have personally talked
to the governor’s top aides about how to quickly improve the situation.
As a result, we first converted the COVID-19 testing site at Holiday Park to handle
vaccinations that is being run by the state’s Health Department and then moved it to
Snyder Park so even more people can be accommodated. We also have opened a
mega-site for vaccinations at Lockhart Park’s soccer stadium parking lot. It is being
operated by the Broward Health hospital district in conjunction with the state
Dean Trantalis Division of Emergency Management.
Mayor,
City of Fort Lauderdale I’m proud of the level of cooperation that has led to these sites opening. Wilton
dtrantalis@fortlauderdale.gov
Manors, Oakland Park and Pompano Beach have worked with our city to provide
needed EMS staffing at Holiday Park. And I offer my sincere thanks to the Inter
Miami soccer team for agreeing to make the Lockhart facilities available and to the
Broward Health for agreeing to take on the task of management.

Lockhart is a great location given its proximity to Interstate 95 and the large area to
service a high volume of people. But still it took a lot of coordination to get the site
City Hall, 8th Floor
100 N Andrews Ave up and running quickly. In a matter of a week, we had giant tents set up,
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33311 generators trucked in, supplies delivered and medical staff put in place.
The Health Department has improved how it takes a high volume of appointments:
866-201-6313. To receive a vaccine at Lockhart, register at BrowardHealth.org
and complete the vaccination request form. Broward Health schedulers will respond
to requests in the order that they are received.
Broward Health initially plans to vaccinate 500 people a day and hopes to
eventually scale up the operation to handle more than 1,000 daily. We are
continuing to look for other ways to expand vaccination in our community as
Office Contact
supplies become available.
Scott Wyman
Chief of Staff
Office of the Mayor We have been doing more than that as well. Please join me in thanking Tavistock,
swyman@fortlauderdale.gov the owner of Pier 66, and Informa, the producer of the Fort Lauderdale International
954-828-5314
Boat Show, for stepping forward to provide a location in Fort Lauderdale for the
state to train doctors and nurses in how to properly administer the vaccine.

All of us want to see our vulnerable elderly population and our frontline first-
responders vaccinated as quickly as possible so we are doing our best to ensure
that happens.
This is a monumental task both locally and nationally. And now is the time to set
aside petty politics and partisan rancor and focus on the task at hand. In the 10
CITY OF FORT LAUDERDALE months since we began our response to this pandemic, more than 1.5 million

8 The Landings & Bay Colony