Vaccine rush waning as cases skyrocket by nearly 8,000
With vaccination sites popping up daily at malls, churches and parks throughout South Florida, the urgency to reach as many people as possible was underscored on Thursday when nearly 8,000 COVID-19 cases were tallied across the state.
The 7,939 cases reported by Florida health officials is the biggest single-day increase since 8,525 were recorded on Feb. 11.
Another 517 cases were reported in Palm Beach County, the second highest daily jump since Feb. 25.
Dr. Mary Jo Trepka, an infectious disease epidemiologist at Florida International University, said the single-day spike could be an anomaly caused when labs dumped a six-week-high 117,112 test results at once.
Two Palm Beach County commissioners on Tuesday agreed to end a short-lived spat over why residents of the poverty-wracked Glades were briefly blocked from getting coronavirus vaccines, while Gov. Ron DeSantis declared war on a national news program.
During a press conference in Panama City, DeSantis blasted the producers of a 60 Minutes episode as “smear merchants,” who “lied” about why the predominantly Black farming community was overlooked when all of the county’s vaccines were given to Publix in January.
“The corporate media thinks they can run over people. You ain’t running over this governor,” DeSantis said to a smattering of applause from supporters. “I’m punching back.”
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Presented by CVS Health
Good Friday morning.
The daily rundown Between Wednesday and Thursday, the number of Florida coronavirus cases increased by 13,148 (1.1 percent), to 1,168,483; active hospitalizations went down by 23 (0.4 percent), to 5,122; deaths rose by 101 (nearly 0.5 percent), to 20,305.
Crank up the outrage machine Well, that escalated quickly.
Palm Beach Post
Rick Christie grew up reading and delivering The Palm Beach Post. Now, after a 38-year career in journalism that most recently saw him as the paper’s editorial page editor, he will take over the reins as executive editor of what he considers his hometown paper.
“We’re thrilled to have someone of Rick’s journalistic caliber and deep knowledge of the community as the next editor of the Palm Beach Post,” said Amalie Nash, senior vice president of the USA TODAY Network, which includes the Post and more than 20 other publications in Florida. “It was immediately evident that Rick has a strong vision and believes in the importance of local news. We know the Post is in strong hands with Rick at the helm.”