ORLANDO, Fla. – Initial vaccine efforts have been slow going in Florida and the rest of the country as local health departments attempt to rollout vaccination sites, meanwhile the rate of COVID-19 infections has been on the rise for the past five days.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 4.2 million people across the U.S. have received their first shot of either the Moderna or Pfzier COVID-19 vaccines. However, more than 13 million doses have been distributed nationwide.
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The rollout has been marked by a multitude of logistical hurdles, a patchwork of approaches by state and local governments and confusion. Some people are uncertain where or when to get a shot.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, said over the weekend that he saw “some little glimmer of hope” in the stepped-up rate of vaccinations. He acknowledged the U.S. fell short of its goal of having 20 million doses shipped and distributed by the end of December, saying, “We are not where we want to be.”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced plans to start ramping up coronavirus vaccines around the state by utilizing current state-run testing sites and relying on hospitals, as well as community churches, for wider distribution.
The governor has directed the Division of Emergency Management to work with the Florida Department of Health to identify state run COVID-19 testing sites that can be converted into vaccine sites.
[READ YESTERDAY’S REPORT: Florida reports 10,000 new cases, 184 hospitalizations]
Below is a breakdown of Florida COVID-19 data reported by the state on Jan. 4:
Cases
The Florida Department of Health reported 11,215 new cases on Monday, bringing the state’s overall total to 1,376,692 cases since March.
Deaths
Florida reported 105 new virus deaths Monday. This means at least 22,415 people have died in relation to the coronavirus across the state, including 325 non-residents who died in Florida.
Hospitalizations
As of Monday afternoon, there are currently 7,237 people with the virus hospitalized in Florida, according to the state Agency for Health Care Administration.
Since March, 63,505 people have been hospitalized in Florida after complications from the coronavirus. That number includes the 173 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 7.98% to 23.06% over the past two weeks and was 12.5% for the 89,554 total tests reported Sunday. For the past five days, the rate has been above the advised 10%.
Vaccinations
The Florida Department of Health recently began releasing a daily report on COVID-19 vaccines administered throughout the state. As of Monday, 255,808 people have been vaccinated in Florida.
See COVID-19 data for the Central Florida region below:
| County | Cases | New cases | Hospitalizations | New hospitalizations | Deaths | New deaths | Total people vaccinated (First dose) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brevard | 22,037 | 397 | 1,444 | 1 | 525 | 0 | 7,376 |
| Flagler | 3,959 | 18 | 230 | 0 | 48 | 0 | 926 |
| Lake | 16,483 | 222 | 981 | 0 | 318 | 10 | 5,615 |
| Marion | 18,741 | 130 | 1,344 | 3 | 485 | 5 | 2,845 |
| Orange | 80,053 | 888 | 1,961 | 5 | 751 | 1 | 19,805 |
| Osceola | 26,550 | 327 | 1,094 | 3 | 291 | 0 | 2,960 |
| Polk | 39,268 | 425 | 3,343 | 1 | 791 | 0 | 4,117 |
| Seminole | 18,886 | 160 | 918 | 1 | 316 | 0 | 7,635 |
| Sumter | 5,403 | 53 | 384 | 1 | 122 | 0 | 612 |
| Volusia | 23,229 | 151 | 1,288 | 4 | 457 | 2 | 6,088 |
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The Associated Press contributed to this story.