Elizabeth Djinis
Correction: The vaccine event was held in north Sarasota. An earlier version of this story s headline incorrectly said it was held in Newtown.
The Florida Department of Health in Sarasota County hosted its first pop-up vaccine clinic in north Sarasota Sunday geared toward vaccinating communities of color.
Roughly 400 Black and Hispanic people were vaccinated Sunday at Light of the World International Church near Myrtle Street and U.S. 41. The event was spurred in part by community activists who called for better vaccine access for some of the most vulnerable members of the community. Rather than going through the county’s Everbridge registration system, a group of community leaders compiled a list of local people of color who were over 65 or frontline health care providers who had not been vaccinated. Those people were called and given appointments for Sunday.
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Presented by CVS Health
Hello and welcome to Tuesday.
The daily rundown Between Sunday and Monday, the number of Florida coronavirus cases increased by 3,615 (nearly 0.2 percent), to 1,830,988; active hospitalizations went up by 3 to 4,676; deaths rose by 155 (0.5 percent) to 28,934; Floridians vaccinated with at least one dose is 2,387,350.
Sarasota County advocates want better COVID-19 vaccine equity
Elizabeth Djinis
Sarasota community advocates are working to ensure that communities of color – who have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19 – have equal access to the vaccine. Right now, the numbers show they don’t.
The number of white people in Sarasota County who have received at least one dose of the vaccine still far outweighs the number of Black people, according to state data from Friday morning.
As of Friday, almost 58,000 people have received at least one dose of vaccine in Sarasota County. Only 570 of those were Black, mostly from a Sarasota Memorial Hospital vaccination clinic in Newtown last month, where about 400 people were vaccinated.
Guide dog becomes a companion for a remade life
Elizabeth Djinis
Seeing them from afar, it isn’t obvious who is guiding whom.
Gary Ernneus walks with a leash and handle in hand, a black lab by his side. At first, their stride, nearly in step, seems casual. Gary directs the dog slowly but steadily, telling her to go “left” or “forward” and praising her with “Good girl,” holding his hand out to give her treats when she’s done something right.
But look closer, and the dog has a greater purpose. Her harness has a sign: “Don’t pet me. I’m working.” Her eyes have a certain determination in them, focused on the task at hand. When the sidewalk comes to an end, the dog stops at the edge of the curb, and Gary stops, too.