It’s Wednesday, December 16th - and NBC 6 has the top stories for the day.
No. 1 - Residents of a Broward County nursing home will be getting coronavirus vaccines Wednesday, as Gov. Ron DeSantis says he is getting "mixed signals from the bureaucracy" about the ability of pharmacies CVS and Walgreens to quickly administer the vaccines to nursing home staff and residents.
DeSantis allotted hundreds of thousands of doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine to county health department workers in Broward and Pinellas counties to begin giving the shots themselves. John Knox Village in Broward announced Tuesday the first shots would be given Wednesday to 56 residents and 46 healthcare staff at their Pompano Beach location. Facilities in Miami-Dade County say they expect to be getting doses within a week.
No. 2 - The first doses of the new COVID-19 vaccine arrived at Jackson Health System in Miami Tuesday, hospital officials said.
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The initial shipment of 19,500 does of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was immediately placed into super cold freezers. A group of nine healthcare workers at the hospital system were the first to receive the vaccine later Tuesday. The initial group of nine to receive the shot included an emergency room physician, an ICU nurse, and a service worker who said being included in the initial rollout was humbling. Jackson Health's initial share of the vaccine arrived a days after three other hospital systems - Memorial Regional in Broward, UF Health in Jacksonville and Tampa General - received their first doses.
No. 3 - The city of Hialeah announced a grocery gift card program to help thousands of families who are now struggling to put food on the table because of COVID-19.
Local
The city is giving away 5,000 gift cards, valued at $250, from Fresco y Mas and Sedano’s Supermarkets. The application process will be quick. Starting Wednesday, Hialeah residents can pick up an application at either John F. Kennedy Library, Goodlet Park, Carl Slade Park or Babcock Park. Then on Friday, Dec. 18, residents should bring the filled out application to the Hialeah Race Track, where they will be giving out the gift cards. Click here for more information and to apply.
No. 4 - With the arrival of the holiday season across South Florida, CAMACOL and Miami Marlins' HOPE Foundation hope to still bring cheer to families most in need amid the coronavirus pandemic.
CAMACOL and the Marlins Foundation have teamed up once again for the food basket giveaway event that forced them to chance their distribution methods due to the pandemic. The 2020 edition of the annual giveaway taking place Wednesday will have a new look - this year, the event will be drive thru only to keep everyone safe. Residents will be allowed to line up inside their cars at Marlins Park starting at noon with the event starting at 1 p.m. Residents will be allowed to come to the east side of the stadium and baskets will be handed out on a first come, first serve basis.
No. 5 - A local theater company in Liberty City is bringing one of Miami's only Black Santa Clauses to town.
You can meet him this weekend on Dec. 19 and 20 virtually or at Fantasy Theatre Factory, where he'll be spreading cheer, joy and diversity. NBC 6 anchor Sheli Muñiz spoke to Luckner “Lucky” Bruno of Fantasy Theatre Factory. Click here for that interview and to learn more about joining in on the event this weekend.
No. 6 - Weatherwise, South Florida will deal with the warm weather for at least one more day before the latest front cools things down across the area. Keep your NBC 6 app handy for push alerts on any severe weather as well as First Alert Doppler 6000.
