As a limited supply of the coronavirus vaccine has become available across Florida, residents are understandably anxious to know when they will be able to stand in line for a dose.
Nursing homes across the state of Florida will be getting plenty of the vaccines in the coming days while one South Florida county is turning toward those with experience as first responders to help administer doses.
More Vaccine News
Here's what we know today about the coronavirus outbreak in Florida, and the effort to stop it.
Florida to Receive 307,000 First-Dose Vaccines Next Week
Gov. Ron DeSantis announced in a tweet late Tuesday that Florida will be receiving 307,000 first doses from the federal government next week.
DeSantis says the state's priority is work on vaccinating those 65 and older.
Vaccine Supply Continues to Be Issue for South Florida Hospitals
Most vaccination sites across Miami-Dade and Broward have not held doses in reserve, saying the state assured them the delivery of second doses.
But with production lagging, some sites have paused operations or have yet to schedule seniors for their booster shots.
Mercy Hospital is the latest hospital to confirm that they are having to "reschedule vaccinations due to limited supply" but says they are prioritizing staff. The hospital says they are communicating appointment changes to those affected.
Florida Adds 9,600 New COVID-19 Cases, Reports 231 More Virus Deaths Tuesday
Florida added nearly 9,600 new COVID-19 cases Tuesday, as the state's virus-related death toll increased by over 230.
The 9,594 new confirmed COVID-19 cases brought Florida's total to 1,667,763 since the outbreak began, according to figures released by the state's department of health.
Another 227 virus-related deaths among Florida residents were reported Tuesday, bringing the total to 25,673.
Miami-Dade County Launches Phone Option for COVID-19 Vaccine Appointments
Miami-Dade County launched a new phone number for making COVID-19 vaccine appointments Tuesday and released a limited number of appointments.
The phone number is 305-614-2014. Appointments can also be made at miamidade.gov/vaccine.
DeSantis Clashes With White House Over Florida's COVID Vaccine Supply
The effort to get more COVID-19 vaccines in Florida has Gov. Ron DeSantis clashing with President Joe Biden's White House over the number of doses the state is receiving and how they're being administered.
DeSantis has said the flow of vaccines from the federal government has been stagnant and the state needs more to meet the increasing demand from residents. He said the state has been receiving about 266,000 doses per week but has the capacity to administer more.
As of Monday morning, Florida has received 1.7 million 1st doses, and administered about 1.25 million, but that number could be higher due to a lag in reporting, DeSantis said.
Florida Expanding Vaccination Program to Publix Locations in Indian River, St. Lucie Counties
DeSantis also announced Tuesday the expansion of the state's program with the supermarket giant to two more counties, Indian River and St. Lucie.
The announcement came at a Publix in Vero Beach, one week after DeSantis announced the Palm Beach County and Monroe County would have locations opening up.
Vaccinations Moving to Snyder Park Tuesday in Fort Lauderdale
Officials are moving vaccinations from one site to another in Broward County on Tuesday in an effort to improve the flow of traffic and get more people their needed vaccines.
Snyder Park, located at 3299 Southwest 4th Street in Fort Lauderdale, will replace Holiday Park as the distribution site for the vaccine and collection site for other testing.
The site opens at 8 a.m. and will be appointment only. Those who got their first dose at Holiday Park before Jan. 22 don't need to make a new appointment for the second dose. Residents who meet the criteria of being age 65 or older, or frontline health care workers, can request to make an appointment by calling 866-201-6313 or TTY at 833-476-1526.
Vaccine Offered to All Florida Nursing Home Residents, Staff by End of Month: DeSantis
The COVID-19 vaccine will be offered to all residents and staff of Florida's nursing homes by the end of January, DeSantis said Monday.
DeSantis made the announcement during a news conference at at River Garden Hebrew House for the Aged in Jacksonville.
Florida followed federal recommendations in starting vaccinations first for front-line medical workers plus residents and staff of nursing homes in mid-December. DeSantis said about 22% of the state's seniors age 65 and up have received the vaccine as of Monday, and said about 70% of the state's doses are going to seniors.
Florida Adds 8,720 New COVID-19 Cases, Reports 156 More Virus Deaths Monday
Florida added more than 8,700 new COVID-19 cases Monday, as the state's virus-related death toll increased by over 150.
The 8,720 new confirmed COVID-19 cases brought Florida's total to 1,658,169 since the outbreak began, according to figures released by the state's department of health.
The positivity rate for new cases in the state was 9.56% in Monday's department of health coronavirus report, up from Sunday's 8.26% rate.
Broward Recruits Retired Docs and Nurses to Help Administer COVID-19 Vaccines
As the COVID-19 vaccination process ramps up, Broward County is calling on the old guard to help out.
The county’s Medical Reserve Corps is asking retired physicians, nurses and health care workers to help out in the massive effort to vaccinate hundreds of thousands of people.
The application has spots for qualifications, licenses and any special skills. Laypeople with no medical background are encouraged to join the corps as well as they can help with paperwork, traffic flow and other non-medical tasks.
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