Americans 'vulnerable' without new generation of shots
Welcome to today's edition of the Florida Coronavirus Watch Newsletter, which comes out every Monday and Thursday or as urgent news dictates.
Here's what's happening
- US 'vulnerable' to COVID without new shots, White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator says. In an Associated Press interview, Dr. Ashish Jha said Americans' immune protection from the virus is waning, the virus is adapting to be more contagious and booster doses for most people will be necessary — with the potential for enhanced protection from a new generation of shots.
"As we get to the fall, we are all going to have a lot more vulnerability to a virus that has a lot more immune escape than even it does today and certainly than it did six months ago,” Jha said. "That leaves a lot of us vulnerable.”
- Florida hospitalizations went up, but severity still low: Coronavirus hospitalizations across Florida crept up past pre-omicron levels this week, but some measurements show the severity of the latest wave of infections remains near pandemic lows.
Medical staff tended to 1,234 COVID-positive adult patients Friday, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reported, the most recorded since March 10. Even as adult hospitalizations started rising in mid-April after the omicron-variant wave crashed, the percent of those patients in ICUs fell to about 10% later that month and has hovered at that level since.
- Tourism is bouncing back from COVID. Volusia County attracted 9.9 million visitors in 2021 as the destination rebounded from a 7.2 million total in pandemic-plagued 2020, according to figures released by the Daytona Beach Area Convention & Visitors Bureau. And visitors to Gainesville and Alachua County in 2021 generated more than $630 million in economic impact, according to a recent county study.
- Every Escambia County student will get 4 books, paid for with COVID money. The Escambia County School District wants to establish a culture of reading among all of its students, from kindergarteners to high schoolers, and plans to use COVID relief money to do that.
At the end of the school year, every student enrolled in an Escambia County public school will have the opportunity to select up to four books to take home with them at the start of summer break.
- There is funding available for COVID funerals, but not many have applied. A year into the program, the federal government has paid more than $2 billion to cover funeral costs for people who die of COVID. More than 300,000 families have received reimbursement, averaging $6,500. But fewer than half of eligible families have started applications, and FEMA said there is no limit on the funding available at this time.
Many surviving family members have run into challenges or don’t know the money is still available.
COVID info to know
COVID-19 will be an issue for a long time to come, and we think more education is better. Here's what you need to know.
ABOUT COVID
Pfizer, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson vaccine booster shots: Things to know
Where and when can I get a booster/second booster in Florida?
This story is free for everyone: Compare the spread of COVID-19 in your area
AVOIDING COVID
Why N95, KN95 masks are so much more effective against omicron than cloth
Are N95 and KN95 masks reusable and how should you store them?
Can you avoid COVID if a member in your household has it? Ways to decrease your risk
Do I still need to wear a mask? What the new CDC COVID mask guidance means for Florida
TESTING
Is it the flu, a cold, or COVID-19? How to know, and when to get tested
What's the difference between at-home tests, over-the-counter rapid tests, and PCR tests?
DO YOU HAVE COVID?
Were you exposed to coronavirus? Did you test positive? If so, here's what to do next
Long COVID: Why aren't my symptoms going away? Why did they come back? Am I a long-hauler?
What do you want to know about COVID-19? You ask, we'll try to answer
From a reader: "It's not a question: I just want to express my dismay at the first sentence of your otherwise excellent newsletter 'As the COVID cases dwindle...' In the last 14 days, new COVID cases increased in the US by 59% (dwindling?!); hospitalization by a staggering 20% and patients in ICUs by 13%."
That's an excellent point, we haven't updated our intro since cases began surging again. Thanks for catching that!
Anything you'd like to know? Ask your questions here.
Thank you for reading! We appreciate you trusting our statewide journalists to keep you safe and informed. If you are encouraged by our work and want to support your local journalists, please consider subscribing. Know someone who would benefit from this newsletter? Forward this email so they can sign up.
Jonathan and Jennifer's note of the day:
As Chris enjoys a much-deserved break, we wanted to say hello to our readers, and hope you have a great week.
Here's what else is happening with the coronavirus in Florida today.
— Jennifer Sangalang, jsangalang@floridatoday.com, and Jonathan Tully, jtully@gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Americans 'vulnerable' without new generation of shots
