Calls to the designated number for making vaccination appointments yielded either a busy signal or the recorded message, “Your call did not go through. Please try your call again later.”
Calls to other numbers with the health department produced the same results.
James Kent of Lake Wales said he had called the vaccination line about 30 times Tuesday. He said most calls resulted in a busy signal. The three times he got through to the electronic answering system, he was promptly disconnected, he said. It s extremely frustrating, that the county system doesn’t seem to be prepared to deal with the requests for vaccinations that they should have expected once they announced a program was going to be in place, that the governor (Ron DeSantis) was going to distribute the vaccines, Kent said.
LAKELAND The surge in COVID-19 infections peaked with Wednesday’s report of a record 513 new cases for Polk County.
The previous daily high for the county was 505 on July 18, according to The Ledger’s records.
The county was averaging 309.3 cases a day during December through Wednesday. With only two reporting days remaining, Polk is almost certain to surpass the previous high of 279.5 daily cases set in July, during the previous peak of the pandemic.
The Florida Department of Health reported a positive rate of 12.73% for Polk County residents’ tests processed Tuesday, well below the high of 36.6% reported the previous day. That was the first time the daily figure had exceeded 20%.
Will you get the COVID-19 vaccine? Polk residents weigh in
Others determined not to receive injections
When the COVID-19 pandemic reached Polk County early in 2020, Assunta “Cindy” Jaskolka was working as a nurse at a long-term care facility in Lakeland.
By March, Jaskolka decided to leave that job, as she didn’t think her employer was providing adequate protective equipment. The Winter Haven resident said her husband, Andy, 79, has chronic health problems, and she worried she might become infected at work and spread the coronavirus to him, with potentially lethal consequences.
Now that vaccines against COVID-19 are becoming available, Jaskolka said she will seek one at the first opportunity. A registered nurse for nearly five decades, she said she hopes to resume working after becoming vaccinated.
LAKELAND It will be next week before the public begins receiving COVID-19 vaccinations in Polk County, and those shots will only be offered in some communities.
Dr. Joy Jackson, director of the Polk County Health Department, said Wednesday that her agency has not yet received nearly enough doses of vaccine to begin scheduling injections for local residents. Jackson said she has not received an indication from the state on which additional doses will arrive.
“We will be assisting with some vaccinations of front-line health care providers, but the bottom line is the quantity of vaccine we received is nowhere near what we’re ultimately going to need,” she said.
Tickets are on sale for New Venture Theatre s online concert, Soulful Sounds of Christmas, streaming through Jan. 19. This family-friendly show is a benefit presentation for the theater company. Tickets are $15 at vimeo.com/ondemand/ssoc2020. For more information, call (225) 588-7576 or visit newventuretheatre.org.
Theatre Baton Rouge s production of the radio stage play It s a Wonderful Life will be streaming via Vimeo beginning at 3 p.m. Dec. 22 through 11:59 p.m. Dec. 24. Tickets are $20.75 at theatrebr.org. For more information, call (225) 924-6496.
Tickets are on sale for the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra s online BRSO & Bubbles New Year s Eve Champagne Tasting and Concert from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Dec. 31, hosted along with Martin Wine & Spirits. Maureen Lara-Fournier, from Vintus/Bollinger, will lead a tasting of two wines accompanied by music from Rachel and Nicholas Ciraldo, who, after the tasting, will present a 30-minute concert. Each purchase includes two bottles