‘Hopefully We’ll See Cruising From This Port This Summer’: Mayor Daniella Levine Cava At COVID Vaccination Pop-Up Event At PortMiami

MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava stopped by PortMiami Wednesday morning where a pop-up vaccination site was putting shots in the arms of port workers and anyone who wanted one.

“My new motto is no arms left behind,” she said.

The site at PortMiami will be open with no appointments needed until 4 p.m. and has both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccine. The Mayor’s office said the site can offer up to 750 shots.

“It feels great, I barely realized I had gotten it,” said Ancil Hunter who got his vaccine on Wednesday. Hunter said he plans to travel once he’s fully vaccinated.

Rafi Bendavid, whose son works for Royal Caribbean, also stopped by Wednesday’s pop-up site.

“He knew that I needed to get the shot so he told me the company was offering for the families and if I would like to take it, I said, yes of course,” he said.

A spokesperson for Mayor Levine Cava told CBS4 the vaccination team at PortMiami will come back to the same site when people are due for their second dose of the vaccine.

The site at PortMiami isn’t the only pop-up site you’ll see in Miami-Dade County.

“We also are going to be operating pop-ups throughout the county, in places where people congregate,” said Mayor Levine Cava on Wednesday. “Malls, universities, major worksites. We are going to the airport and will be at the airport in May. Everywhere that there are people gathered, we want to eliminate barriers to getting the vaccine, nothing will put us back to normal without this vaccine.”

Desperately hoping to get back to normal is the cruise industry, which sat as the backdrop to Wednesday’s pop-up site at the port.

“So we know that very serious conversations are underway to resume. The CDC recognizes that vaccines are really the critical change that will allow us to get back to safe cruising, and we’re very, very hopeful that we’ll see cruising from this for this summer,” Levine Cava said.

Levine Cava added that several of the cruise lines are in conversations with the CDC and Miami-Dade County is backing them 100%.

“We try to bring all of our cruise companies together to speak with one voice because as a county, we want to be sure that we take the measures necessary to protect our residents or visitors or workers,” she said.

But travel industry expert Sandra McLemore said it may take a while.

“Now many of the crews will have to go back to same safety training, hospitality training. They will also have to reload the ships with new provisions,” she said. “In addition to the general sailing rules, they have to worry about there are also new COVID protocols taking place. There are a lot of changes that passengers can expect to see when they go back onto the ships. But it will all take some time.”

McLemore said the cruise lines have had scientist conduct studies to ensure they can resume cruising safely for their passengers and crew members.

“Now they will be relying on technology and new enhancements all backed by science to do basic things. Like when you book your excursion tickets, you will be able to book those from your remote control on television. You’ll be able to open your door with a bracelet or app on your phone. They are putting in a lot of time,” she explained.