Former White House coronavirus response coordinator warns of summer surge in Florida

Ginny Beagan, Fort Myers News-Press
·3 min read
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Welcome to today's edition of the Florida Coronavirus Watch Newsletter, which comes out every Monday and Thursday or as urgent news dictates. Thank you for reading.

Here's what's happening

- Deborah Birx in West Palm Beach warns of big summer COVID surge in Florida. Speaking at a lunch promoting her recently released book "Silent Invasion," the former White House coronavirus response coordinator warned of a summer swell of COVID infections and hospitalizations across Florida and the South. "We are heading into Memorial Day, when families like to get together," Dr. Birx said, urging attendees to order COVID tests now because "there will be a shortage." She recommended that people get tested before visiting grandparents and other elderly relatives for the holiday May 30.

Read the complete story from the Palm Beach Post here.

- It's happening again: COVID-19 cases are back on the rise. There are 3 main reasons why. COVID-19 infections continue to rise, driven by new and more infectious omicron subvariants, waning immunity from both vaccines and previous infections and fewer people masking up, health officials said at a White House briefing Wednesday. On average, about 3,000 Americans are being hospitalized per day and 275 are dying.

Get the full story here.

FDA authorizes Pfizer COVID vaccine booster for children 5 to 11. The Food and Drug Administration authorized Pfizer-BioNTech's COVID-19 booster shot for children ages 5 to 11. Pfizer-BioNTech's vaccine is the only COVID-19 vaccine authorized for younger children. Children in that age group get a dose that is equivalent to one-third of the dose given to adults. The booster dose is available to children five months after completing their primary series of two shots.

You can read the complete story here.

- 'That’s just part of aging': Long COVID symptoms are often overlooked in seniors. Nearly 18 months after getting COVID-19 and spending weeks in the hospital, Terry Bell struggles with hanging up his shirts and pants after doing the laundry. Bell, 70, is among millions of older adults who have grappled with long COVID — a population that has received little attention even though research suggests seniors are more likely to develop the poorly understood condition than younger or middle-aged adults.

USA TODAY has the full story for its subscribers.

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.

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Ginny's note of the day: We've been dealing with COVID for too long, and are now facing an economic crisis. Imagine going through all that — and living in a war zone! It's been nearly 3 months since Russia invaded Ukriane. The United Nations has confirmed 3,778 civilian deaths and 4,186 injuries in Ukraine since Russia invaded on Feb. 24. Let's not forget the Ukrainian people.

Here's what else is happening with the coronavirus in Florida today.

— Ginny Beagan, vbeagan@gannett.com

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Former White House coronavirus response coordinator warns of summer surge in Florida