Variant’s Spread in Florida Shows Threat to U.S. Covid Recovery More hospitalizations in the Sunshine State as B.1.1.7 thrives https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...in-florida-shows-threat-to-u-s-covid-recovery A highly infectious Covid-19 variant is circulating widely in Florida, prompting concern that a resurgence of the virus is possible in the state and beyond, even as cases and hospitalizations drop dramatically. In Florida, as elsewhere in the U.S., Covid cases, hospitalizations and deaths have dropped significantly from recent highs, helped by progress in the vaccination campaign. But conditions aren’t improving quite as quickly in the Sunshine State, at least in certain key categories. The per-capita rate of Covid-19 patients currently in Florida hospitals is now about 25% above the national average. And new patients are arriving at its hospital emergency departments at slightly higher rates than the rest of the country. Florida isn’t the place with the most Covid-burdened hospitals -- New York is -- but the underperformance bears watching because Florida has the highest estimated concentration of cases of the B.1.1.7 variant. In recent days, more than 30% of Covid-19 samples from Florida indicate the presence of the contagious mutation that has caused havoc in the U.K., according to an analysis by testing company Helix. Nationwide, Helix data suggest the variant accounts for more than 20% cases, though the figures are extrapolations based on a fraction of cases. In addition, Florida’s cases appear to peak at different times than in the rest of the country, probably in part because of differences in climate. Florida saw very little Covid-19 activity at the start of the pandemic, but cases surged in June and July -- a period that generally drives Floridians indoors to escape the heat. About 17.6% of Floridians have had at least one shot of a vaccine, in line with the 17.7% national average, according to the Bloomberg Vaccine Tracker. While Texas and Mississippi recently lifted statewide mask mandates, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis never instituted one, which has prompted concern among public-health experts throughout the pandemic. But local practice doesn’t necessarily reflect the policy: As of this month, 73% of Floridians say they always wear a mask outside of the home, just below the national average of 77%, according to survey data provided by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington. The U.S. posted 46,696 Covid-19 cases on Sunday, bringing the seven-day average to 60,041, the lowest since Oct. 21, according to Johns Hopkins University data. There have been more than 525,000 deaths overall in the U.S., the data show.
Biden forces pharmacies to follow Federal vaccination guidelines --- and not the state of Florida vaccination guidelines. Any pharmacy not following federal guidelines will not be given doses. This is what happens in a state that has no written vaccination plan (as required by the Federal government). Florida is the ONLY state without a written vaccination plan -- and the Feds are saying enough of this bullshiat. Florida pharmacies participating in federal vaccine program told to prioritize teachers over seniors https://www.wfla.com/community/heal...ram-told-to-prioritize-teachers-over-seniors/ At the direction of the federal government, pharmacy retailers participating in the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program must prioritize school staff and child care workers in their vaccine registrations over other groups, a representative for one of the pharmacies said Monday. After teachers, child care workers, school staff and bus drivers are finished making appointments, any remaining appointments will be available to other eligible individuals, like seniors. This new directive, ordered by President Joe Biden, went into effect on March 2. The purpose is to “challenge states to get teachers, school staff and workers in child care programs their first shot by the end of March,” the CDC says. The CDC has created a web page that lists the pharmacy partners currently participating in the program in each state. The pharmacies participating in Florida are Publix, CVS, Winn-Dixie, Walgreens, Walmart and Sam’s Club. A public relations representative for Publix said their pharmacies will begin following the new directive Wednesday. You can sign up for an appointment online. Those prioritized after school teachers and child care workers are seniors, adults determined to be extremely vulnerable to COVID-19, health care professionals, staff members at long-term care facilities and firefighters and police officers age 50 and up. State-run sites, such as the one at Raymond James Stadium, will still follow Gov. Ron DeSantis’ “Seniors First” prioritization.
The idea that death metrics are the most important has nothing to do with those that have died. Instead, it is the most important because it gives the living and idea about what their chance of dying is.
Interesting. It will be key to see whether this post/article follows all the other dire predictions about Florida in the dustbin of hilarity and evidence that these predictions don't know shit about anything, or whether it turns out to be a herald of doom for Florida. And then, will it be a case of "Florida leads the rest of the country" like it did the last time? A period of attacking Florida because of new variants and bad numbers, only to see these variants go through the rest of the country - as they most certainly will? And this is all DeSantis' fault, right?
So currently the governor of Florida is hosting spring break so the COVID variants will be spread all over the country. As well as hosting Daytona Bike Week to further spread COVID variants all over the country (remember Sturgis). These are not the policies of a governor who is concerned about the public health of our nation during a pandemic. He is ensuring that the COVID variants present in Florida will go through the rest of the country -- and making certain they will.
"DeSantis for the win" - Guess who probably had COVID and hid it... Florida’s Top Dem: Ron DeSantis Hid His COVID https://www.thedailybeast.com/floridas-top-democrat-says-gov-ron-desantis-hid-his-covid?ref=home While Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis may have been the runner-up to former President Donald Trump in the recent CPAC straw poll, his chances of ever becoming president himself are not good, according to Florida’s top Democrat. “You know, he went MIA for three weeks in November claiming that he was working on some statewide plan. My take is that he probably had COVID and didn’t want to tell people when the vaccines first came to our state,” Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services Nikki Fried tells co-host Molly Jong-Fast on the latest episode of The New Abnormal. Fried also spills the tea on DeSantis’ handling of the coronavirus pandemic and his real boss—Trump. “A lot of it was, he [DeSantis] was getting his nod from President Trump and wasn’t able to do anything without President Trump’s approval, and the same thing is happening here, because now President Trump is a resident. So I’m sure that [DeSantis] is consistently calling the president and I’m sure the president’s wealthy friends in the state of Florida are asking for the vaccines, and so they’re getting it delivered to them.” But Fried isn’t done truth-telling about DeSantis and how his vaccine rollout will burn down his presidential aspirations, after he allowed non-residents to claim coveted doses for themselves while Floridians went without. “He allowed for out-of-state people to come into the state. So we heard, you know, big donors and people on the boards of hospitals and nursing homes were flying into our state,” she tells Molly.