ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – President Donald Trump spoke Friday evening, insisted once again that a COVID-19 vaccine will be available for roll out before the year is up.
A vaccine is an essential step in gaining control of the pandemic that has gripped the nation, especially as cases spike in certain parts of the country, prompting near-lockdowns in Oregon and New Mexico this week.
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Talks of a possible nationwide lockdown next year have swirled and President-elect Joe Biden will have the tough decision of enacting one, which could create backlash and animosity in an already heavily divided nation, or risk losing more Americans to the deadly respiratory illness.
Biden hasn’t publicly backed a nationwide lockdown and some members of his newly assembled coronavirus advisory board said it shouldn’t even be taken under consideration.
A vaccine could dampen those lockdown talks. Already, federal health officials have reached an agreement with pharmacies across the U.S. to distribute free coronavirus vaccines after they are approved and become available to the public.
[READ MORE: How Orange County is preparing for COVID-19 vaccine distribution]
Below is information provided by the Florida Department of Health for Saturday Nov. 14.
Cases
The Florida Department of Health reported 4,544 new cases on Saturday, bringing the state’s overall total to 875,096 cases since March.
Deaths
The Florida Department of Health on Saturday reported 45 people have recently died from COVID-19. As of Saturday’s coronavirus report, a total of 17,704 deaths across the state have been related to the coronavirus, a number that includes 215 non-resident deaths in Florida.
State health officials have always maintained that virus fatalities are often delayed in being reported to the FDOH, with some deaths not reported for a month or more.
Hospitalizations
Currently, there are 3,151 people with the virus hospitalized in Florida as of Saturday afternoon, according to the state Agency for Health Care Administration.
[READ YESTERDAY’S REPORT: Florida reports nearly 7,000 new coronavirus cases as surge continues across US]
Below is a breakdown of the coronavirus numbers across the 10-county Central Florida region for Nov. 14:
| County | Cases | New Cases | Hospitalizations | New Hospitalizations | Deaths | New Deaths |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brevard | 13,452 | 140 | 1,107 | 8 | 409 | 2 |
| Flagler | 2,379 | 23 | 177 | 1 | 40 | 0 |
| Lake | 9,527 | 61 | 767 | 0 | 243 | 1 |
| Marion | 11,690 | 90 | 1,118 | 7 | 364 | 2 |
| Orange | 50,830 | 384 | 1,676 | 9 | 603 | 2 |
| Osceola | 15,742 | 63 | 892 | 3 | 228 | 1 |
| Polk | 25,020 | 79 | 2,677 | 65 | 648 | 1 |
| Seminole | 11,400 | 81 | 780 | 1 | 255 | 0 |
| Sumter | 3,148 | 8 | 302 | 1 | 89 | 0 |
| Volusia | 14,158 | 41 | 1,020 | 3 | 341 | 1 |
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