Florida reports 8,000 new COVID-19 cases as vaccination efforts continue

ORLANDO, Fla. – Malls and convention centers are becoming the center of the largest vaccine distribution effort in U.S. history as Central Florida counties rollout Pfzier and Moderna shots to more residents in Florida’s first priority groups.

Florida continues to report thousands of new COVID-19 infections as the state has now reported more than 1.25 million cases since March, including more than 21,500 who have died from the virus.

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While more than 100,000 people in Florida have received their first dose of the coronavirus vaccine, they must all return in under a month for their second shot to complete the vaccination.

Florida is currently vaccinating only three priority groups: Health care workers, long-term care facilities and people 65 or older. The health care group includes EMTs and paramedics as well as Department of Health staff who have direct contact.

Residents who are among those groups should check their local health department websites for information on appointments and where inoculations are occurring.

As the state receives more doses, more individuals will qualify. Next up will be frontline workers, such as grocery store employees, teachers and police.

A third vaccine made by Johnson & Johnson, which only requires one dose, could also boost the country’s vaccination effort. The vaccine is still undergoing phase 3 trial, but the company expects to make the drug available in January.

The demand for testing is also up after the Christmas holiday, but it will be at least two weeks before positive cases reported will reflect any holiday gatherings.

[READ YESTERDAY’S REPORT: Florida’s total cases climb over 1.25 million following holiday]

Below is a breakdown of Florida COVID-19 data reported by the state on Dec. 28:

Cases

The Florida Department of Health reported 8,057 new cases on Monday, bringing the state’s overall total to 1,280,177 cases since March.

Editor’s note: Along with the resources previously utilized by News 6 (state and county-by-county data), as of Dec. 7, WKMG has added state data pulled from the Florida Department of Health’s Florida COVID19 State Testing Totals. This new dataset includes the number of people tested the day prior, which is the number public health officials use to calculate the state’s daily positivity rate.

Deaths

Florida reported 99 new virus deaths Monday. This means at least 21,613 people have died in relation to the coronavirus across the state, including 305 non-residents who died in Florida.

Hospitalizations

As of Monday afternoon, there are currently 6,104 people with the virus hospitalized in Florida, according to the state Agency for Health Care Administration.

Since March, 61,663 people have been hospitalized in Florida after complications from the coronavirus. That number includes the 204 people who have been recently hospitalized due to the virus, according to the health department’s daily report.

Positivity rate

The percent of positive results ranged from 9.91% to 13.61% during the past two weeks and was 11.08% Sunday.

Vaccinations

The Florida Department of Health recently began releasing a daily report on COVID-19 vaccines administered throughout the state. As of Monday, 122,881 people have been vaccinated in Florida.

See COVID-19 data for the Central Florida region below:

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