PHOTO PROVIDED BY LEE HEALTH

Lee County officials announced on Tuesday there would be roughly 2,500 additional COVID-19 vaccine appointments available for this Friday. 

Beginning at 9 a.m. Wednesday, those 65 and older or frontline healthcare workers can call the county’s toll-free number to attempt to schedule an inoculation. 

“The reservation slots are expected to be claimed quickly, likely within minutes,”  the county release issued Tuesday states.

The county’s vendor, Tidal Basin, will take calls at 866-200-3468. 

Officials said those who receive their first dose on Friday will leave the site with a scheduled time and date for their second dose. That time will be the same time of day they were scheduled for their first dose, according to officials. 

As for the potential use of a virtual reservation system, officials said, “The state continues to work on rolling out an online reservation system. This week, calling the phone number to reserve an appointment remains the only option in Lee County.”

The county’s vaccination site is in Fort Myers off Daniels Parkway near Southwest Florida Interna-tional Airport.

Individuals with appointments should bring a Florida Driver License, Florida Identification Card, or two additional documents. Visit www.leegov.com/vaccine for examples of acceptable documents. 

“The county and its partners — FDOH-Lee and the Lee County Sheriff’s Office — anticipate the site will run expeditiously,”  the release states.

According to county officials, Florida residency documentation does not apply to first doses for healthcare providers. It also does not apply to individuals receiving their second dose. 

Officials said more than 5,700 individuals have appointments scheduled at the site for second doses this Wednesday and Thursday.

Tidal Basin has a Help Line at 888-499-0851 and is not to be used to schedule appointments; however, agents can answer questions about the reservation system and other general vaccination questions.

State surpasses 1 million seniors vaccinated

Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office on Tuesday announced that more than 1 million Floridians 65 and older have been vaccinated throughout the state, the highest total in that age bracket nation-wide. 

“Florida is full speed ahead with our Seniors First strategy and it is working,” DeSantis said in a prepared statement. “The state’s reporting now shows that we have vaccinated more than one million seniors, which accounts for nearly 70% of Florida’s total vaccinations to date and is leading the nation in this all-important effort.”

DeSantis’ office also stated that the state is on track to have offered the COVID-19 vaccine to every resident and staff member in Florida’s nearly 700 nursing homes and more than 3,000 assisted living facilities by the end of the month. 

“Under Governor DeSantis’ direction, the Florida Division of Emergency Management continues to administer vaccines in long-term care facilities across the state,” the release states. “These efforts are supplementing and accelerating the vaccinations being undertaken by CVS and Walgreens, pursuant to their agreement with the federal government and reaffirms Florida’s commitment to prioritize vaccine access to our most vulnerable populations. The state is expecting that staff and residents at all of Florida’s more than 4,000 long term care facilities will be vaccinated by the end of the month.”

By the Numbers

As of Tuesday afternoon, there are 1,667,763 total cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Florida, an increase of 9,594 since FDOH’s last update Monday.

Test results reported to the Department of Health on Monday, Jan. 25, resulted in a 9.19% positivity rate among 123,266 tests.

The state saw its highest daily percentage of positive patients on Dec. 29 when 22.75% percent of tests reported were positive among 62,303 tests.

The average positivity rate in new cases over the last week is 9.34%. Percent positivity rates in new cases have been over 5% since Oct. 29. 

Of those testing positive, 70,802 Florida residents have been hospitalized at some point during their illness according to the state.

The death toll increased by 231 from Monday’s report, bringing the total number of deaths, both resident and non-resident, to 26,080.

According to the state, hospitalizations in Lee County, and statewide in Florida, make up 4% of all positive cases. Deaths statewide and in Lee County stand at 2% of positive cases.

On Dec. 27, 974 people were given the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine throughout the state according to FDOH. The total number of persons vaccinated as of Tuesday throughout Florida was 1,446,580 with 48,259 being in Lee County. According to the state, 175,841 individuals have received their first and second doses, 4,979 of those being in Lee County. 

In Lee County, 51,203 individuals (+311) have tested positive as of Tuesday’s update. 

Positive COVID-19 cases in the county have ranged from infants to a 103-year-old. Lee County saw its first two cases on March 7, when a man and a woman, each 77, tested positive. They had traveled to the Dominican Republic.

There have been 777 deaths in Lee County, an increase of three since Monday’s report.

A 30-year-old Lee County woman became the youngest in the county to die from the coronavirus since July, when a 30-year-old man died from the coronavirus. The death of the 30-year-old woman on Jan. 11 follows the reported death of a 34-year-old woman in Lee County on Jan. 2. The youngest COVID-19 death in Lee County remains that of 17-year-old Cypress Lake High School student Carsyn Davis, who died in June.

As of Tuesday afternoon, Lee Health had 169 COVID-19 patients isolated in system inpatient hospitals, including 24 new admissions and 26 discharges since Monday. Lee Health saw discharges and new admissions over the weekend. 

On Monday, Lee Health had a 21.4% positivity rate on COVID-19 tests processed through Lee Health Labs. This represents Lee Health results only, not Lee County as a whole. Hospital positivity rates tend to be higher as the tests are performed on patients seeking treatment for a health issue, not the general public that includes asymptomatic individuals.

Census as of Tuesday afternoon was at 98% of staffed operational bed capacity, with 11.8% of those being COVID-19 patients. Staffed operational capacity reflects the number of beds for which the hospital has adequate staffing, not the total number of beds within Lee Health hospitals. Overall bed capacity fluctuates hour to hour as the system discharges patients throughout the day who are ready to go home.

As of Tuesday, 76% of ventilators and 8% of ICU rooms are available for use across Lee Health facilities.

As of Tuesday, there were 13 COVID-19 patients on ventilators and 32 in the intensive care unit.

COVID-19 is a highly contagious viral disease. For most individuals, symptoms are mild. For a minority, the disease becomes a type of viral pneumonia with severe complications. Especially at risk are those who are older, those with underlying health conditions and the immune-compromised.

Officials strongly urge all members of the public who are at risk to remain at home so as to limit exposure. All others are urged to observe social distancing and to wear a mask for all public interactions.

For more detail on Florida resident cases, visit the live DOH Dashboard.

To find the most up-to-date information and guidance on COVID-19, visit the Department of Health’s dedicated COVID-19 webpage. For information and advisories from the Centers for Disease Control, visit the CDC COVID-19 website. For more information about current travel advisories issued by the U.S. Department of State, visit the travel advisory website.

For any other questions related to COVID-19 in Florida, contact the Department’s dedicated COVID-19 Call Center by calling 1-866-779-6121. The Call Center is available 24 hours per day. Inquiries may also be emailed to COVID-19@flhealth.gov.

— Connect with this reporter on Twitter: @haddad_cj