Here are some of the top stories from the past week you may have missed from NBC 6 News:
NBC 6 Survey: Health Care Workers Worry About Post-Holiday COVID-19 Surge
Health care workers in South Florida tell NBC 6 they’ve seen an increase in COVID-positive patients since Thanksgiving and warn people to be careful at Christmas gatherings.
“We’re definitely seeing more than we were a few weeks ago,” Dr. David Woolsey, an emergency room doctor at Jackson Health System, told us, describing the COVID-19 crisis as an unwanted routine.
“It’s really changed everything in the whole hospital, not just in the ED (emergency department), in terms of how we can interact with our patients,” Dr. Woolsey said.
Vaccinations for Seniors Will Begin at Mount Sinai Medical Center Saturday
Coronavirus vaccinations for the oldest residents of Miami-Dade County will begin at Mount Sinai Medical Center after Christmas, the hospital's CEO said.
Local
The vaccine is currently only available to frontline healthcare workers and first responders, but beginning Saturday, people aged 75 years or older can start making appointments to receive initial doses of Pfizer and Moderna.
People who would like an appointment can call Mount Sinai between 8:00 am and 5:00 pm during the week, and 8:00 am and 1:00 pm on weekends at 305-674-2312.
Ex-Data Analyst Demands Florida Police Return Computers After Raid
A former Florida Department of Health data analyst who says a raid on her home by state investigators was payback for speaking out about what she describes were efforts to falsify COVID-19 figures is demanding that they return seized computer equipment and cell phones.
Rebekah Jones said in a court filing on Wednesday that what the Florida Department of Law Enforcement is accusing her of doing isn't a crime, according to the Miami Herald.
Jones hasn't been charged with a crime, but state investigators raided her house earlier this month, saying in a search warrant that they had probable cause to believe Jones was behind an anonymous message sent on Nov. 10 to Jones’ former colleagues at the Florida Department of Health using the emergency operations ReadyOps system.
NBC 6 Teams Up With TODAY to Spread Holiday Joy to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Miami
A local organization that gives so much to children in Miami was spotlighted for its efforts not just during this unprecedented time but over the course of many years.
Giving is the core of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Miami. The TODAY show's annual Toy Drive looks a little different due to the pandemic -- but in partnership with NBC's parent company Comcast and with help from NBC 6, Big Brothers Big Sisters received toys and gifts for some 250 families on Tuesday morning.
“It was fantastic,” exclaimed 10-year-old Gissel Paz. “I am so happy. I’m speechless because I didn’t expect the presents would be exactly the same I wanted. [I am] just so surprised and really happy about it.”
Holiday Miracle: 20 Golden Retrievers Arrive in Miami After Being Rescued in China
South Florida got some 'good boys and girls' this weekend when 20 golden retrievers arrived after being saved from the streets and potential slaughter in China.
The mission, a collaboration between Kristine Minerva and Golden Rescue South Florida, took five days to complete with the dogs arriving Sunday morning at Miami International Airport.
“I had a dream and it became a reality yesterday,” Minerva said in a story by NBC affiliate WFLA-TV. “It was like, ‘somebody pinch me.'”
