WLRN staff continues to add updates on testing and vaccination sites, executive orders and messages from government officials, and the latest news on COVID-19. You can find information on free food and food distributions here.
The dedicated website for the Florida Department of Health, including information about the numbers of cases, can be found here.
The dedicated website from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention can be found here.
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QUICK UPDATES
First-Dose Pfizer Shots Coming Back To Federal Hub Sites In Florida During J&J Pause
Updated Monday at 5:20 a.m.
First-dose Pfizer shots will soon be available again at Miami Dade College North campus and the other FEMA hub sites in Tampa, Jacksonville and Orlando, to increase vaccine access during the state’s ongoing J&J pause.
The shots will be available again starting Tuesday, April 20. MDC North and the other FEMA hub sites will also continue to offer second-dose Pfizer shots.
The Florida Division of Emergency Management, which oversees the state’s vaccine distribution, confirmed the change to the Miami Herald on Friday.
— By Michelle Marchante / The Miami Herald
Read more from our news partner at The Miami Herald.
Hospitalizations Plunge Among Florida Seniors, As COVID Immunity Takes Hold
Updated Monday at 5:15 a.m.
The number of Florida seniors entering the hospital for COVID dropped sharply over the past month, an indication that the vaccination campaign begun in December has been effective in protecting the group most vulnerable to the disease.
Hospitals have registered a 46% drop in admissions for COVID patients aged 70 or over since mid-February, an encouraging sign in the fight against the pandemic. And since COVID deaths are typically preceded by hospitalizations, the drop is an indication that the death rate may continue to fall.
Warning signs remain. The hospitalization rate for younger people has begun creeping upward, paralleling a drop in the age of the average person with COVID. And while most Florida seniors have been vaccinated, many have not, and they remain vulnerable to a disease that appears to be spreading as more people venture out to restaurants, clubs and social gatherings.
— By David Fleshler and Cindy Krischer Goodman / The South Florida Sun Sentinel
Read more from our news partner at The South Florida Sun Sentinel.
New Data: Younger People In Florida, Republicans Delaying Day Of Herd Immunity
Updated Monday at 5:10 a.m.
The light at the end of the tunnel got a litter dimmer this past week on the COVID-19 front.
With the one-and-done Johnson & Johnson vaccine put on hold in the United States because of reports it caused blood clots in six women, new studies show other impediments to getting to the Holy Grail of normalcy, which is herd immunity to the coronavirus.
The two groups that are often the most vocal about breaking free from the shackles of the COVID-19 pandemic are now part of the root cause for its lingering malaise in the U.S.: young adults and Republicans, new data shows.
— By John Pacenti / The Palm Beach Post
Read more from our news partner at The Palm Beach Post
