Broward County has an estimated population of 1,946,104 with 63.1% white, 30.2% black and 6.7% other. Ethnicity for Broward County’s population is 31.1% Hispanic Broward County’s COVID cases are 47.92% white, 23.07% Black, 14.71% other, and 14.31% unknown race. Ethnicity for the cases is 38.74% Hispanic, 46.68% non-Hispanic, and 14.58% unknown. COVID cases have disproportionately affected communities of color, the elderly, and people with underlying medical conditions.
During March and April 2020, COVID-19 testing was not widely available. Initially, DOH-Broward operated pop-up specimen collection events for epidemiological outbreaks and investigations across the County, which greatly strained department staff and resources. As a result, DOH-Broward opened the first health equity walk-up specimen collection PODs in the State in the latter part of April 2020. These PODs were operated in coordination with Broward County Administration, Florida Division of Emergency Management, and the local municipalities. The Mitchell Moore POD in Pompano Beach opened April 17, 2020 and closed April 24, 2021. 64,690 specimens were collected at this site during that period. The Urban League of Broward County POD opened April 18, 2020 and closed August 29, 2020 and 21,236 specimens were collected during that period. These fixed specimen collection sites created stability for staffing and resources. As the pandemic surges increased and decreased, DOH-Broward would stand up and down the number of Specimen Collection PODs in operation as well as increase/decrease the footprint at each location. Throughout the COVID response, DOH-Broward utilized environmental scans such as upcoming holidays, severe weather, number of individuals being tested, etc. to plan the number, location, and size of PODs proactively.
Statewide vaccine planning began in earnest in September 2020. DOH-Broward was a member of the Statewide Vaccine Planning Committee. In addition, DOH disseminated five Vaccination Agreement templates for local health departments to utilize in securing Memoranda of Agreements with local partners. DOH-Broward initially worked with existing Cities Readiness Initiative partners and later expanded our efforts to include all Broward County municipalities. Through these efforts, DOH-Broward secured a total of 23 Memorandum of Agreement (MOAs) with 17 municipalities, Broward County Parks and Recreation, the Broward County Medical Association, Broward Sheriff’s Office, 2 Institutes of Higher Education, and The Seminole Tribe of Florida.
In January 2021, DOH-Broward partnered with the City of Oakland Park, who developed a model that included operating a fixed vaccination site, scheduling appointments, and arranging transportation or providing in-home vaccination for their city residents on the vulnerable population's list. DOH-Broward provided on average 144 doses and corresponding ancillary kits daily for the operation of this project. By the completion of this project, Oakland Park provided 4,307 first doses, 4,032 second doses, and 1,491 third doses. Oakland Park created a PowerPoint presentation describing their process, published a YouTube video illustrating the various stations within the site, and offered other municipalities considering opening a site like this to tour their location and take their lessons learned.
The process of transitioning the larger specimen collection sites to vaccination sites began in the first weeks of January 2021. DOH-Broward was able to convert existing specimen collection sites to vaccination sites at the same time additional vaccination sites were established. This made it easier for vaccination sites to be chosen and set up – the operational structure already existed in many locations, so the work required to get the vaccination site operational was minimized. Like the specimen collection operations, DOH-Broward utilized environmental scans such as upcoming holidays, severe weather, expansion of eligible age groups, approval of the booster, etc. to plan the number, location, and size of PODs proactively. As demand for the vaccine surged or declined, the number of vaccination sites was also surged, or the footprint reduced to meet that demand. The peak number of fixed vaccination sites that were established and operated at one time by DOH-Broward was 17.
DOH-Broward made sure to offer both drive-thru and walk-up options for the fixed specimen collection and vaccination opportunities for Broward County residents. With these modes, DOH-Broward as able to conduct POD operations in any size facility or location targeting larger or smaller throughputs while providing the residents options for their ease and comfort levels. On average, a walk-up POD could see a throughput of over 600 people while a drive-thru POD would double to triple the throughput on any given day based on the size of the location. Because of the various modes, DOH-Broward has been able to conduct 1,997,637 specimen collections and 998,559 vaccinations as of December 1, 2021.
Pop-Up opportunities were conducted in collaboration with community partners and the local municipalities. These opportunities were conducted at local events or places of business for those in attendance. Those organizations interested in conducting a Pop-Up POD would contact DOH-Broward, providing a location, number of anticipated throughput and date of event for scheduling. DOH-Broward managed and provided on average 108 doses and corresponding ancillary kits for the operation of these Pop-Ups. Throughout the response and because of conducting both fixed and Pop-Up opportunities DOH-Broward has been able to conduct 1,997,637 specimen collections and 998,559 vaccinations as of December 1, 2021.