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
Broward Health Follows Jackson, To End First-Dose Vaccinations
Updated Thursday, 3:00 p.m.
The last day for COVID-19 vaccinations via Broward Health will be Friday, April 23. People will still be able to get their second-dose shots as scheduled. This announcement comes after Jackson Health System also scheduled the end of its own inoculation program this month.
Broward Health wrote by email that the decision is due to low demand in vaccines and the availability of vaccinations throughout South Florida. "We will continue to vaccinate scheduled individuals over the coming weeks and play a role in future vaccinations and COVID-19 care as needed," wrote Jennifer Smith, associate vice president of corporate communications, in an email.
You can find a list of sites run by the Florida Department of Health in Broward County here. Appointments are not required.
— By Verónica Zaragovia / WLRN
Scores Of Parents Weigh In On Palm Beach County School Mask Mandate
Updated Thursday at 10:46 a.m.
Palm Beach County parents weighed in on school mask mandates Wednesday evening, with about a dozen marching in front of district headquarters and dozens more filling the voicemail inbox for public comment during the first school board meeting since the state advised leaders to make masks optional.
Inside the meeting, the board did not discuss the mandate, but they did hear some 40 minutes of comments, live and then recorded, and then opted to put online the roughly 45 that remained for the public and the board to listen to at their convenience.
The comments heard during the meeting were almost evenly split between those who wanted the mask mandate to stay and those who want masks to be voluntary.
— By Sonja Isger / The Palm Beach Post
Read more from our news partner at The Palm Beach Post.
4 South Florida Organizations Partner To Vaccinate Hundreds Of Homeless, At-Risk Residents
Updated Thursday at 5:40 a.m.
Despite the loosening of COVID-19 vaccine restrictions and a burgeoning number of innoculation sites available to Floridians, some underserved communities still are grappling with inequities in the vaccine rollout.
To combat the issue, four South Florida organizations have partnered with a goal of increasing vaccinations among the homeless and residents most vulnerable in Miami-Dade County.
Starting Thursday at 10 a.m., hundreds of residents, staff and families will be given COVID-19 vaccinations at Chapman Partnership, which works with those experiencing homelessness and runs two assistance centers to help such people.
— By Devoun Cetoute / The Miami Herald
Read more from our news partner at The Miami Herald.
Herd Immunity Express: Health Officials Poised To Take Vaccines To The People
Updated Thursday at 5:36 a.m.
With its first mass coronavirus vaccination clinic set to scale back operations Thursday, the Palm Beach County Health Care District will head to Riviera Beach as it embarks on a road show that could be dubbed the Herd Immunity Express.
Mobile units, that are now key to efforts to get shots in the arms of the 50% of eligible county residents who haven’t sought vaccines, will head to St. George’s Center on Friday and St. James Missionary Baptist Church on Saturday.
The clinics for the homeless, which have been held recently at other locations, offer a glimpse at the district’s new flexible program. More expansive efforts will be possible once the mass vaccination sites are closed at the end of May, officials said.
— By Jane Musgrave / The Palm Beach Post
Read more from our news partner at The Palm Beach Post.
