ORLANDO, Fla. – Now that COVID-19 vaccines have been offered in Orange County for a few weeks, health officials believe they’ll soon be ready to begin expanding their efforts.
As many as 300 more appointments will be issued each day at the Orange County Convention Center. Local churches and a closed pod for school board employees will also be included, according to Dr. Raul Pino, the director of the Florida Department of Health in Orange County.
[READ MORE: More COVID-19 vaccine appointments will soon be offered at Orange County Convention Center]
The news comes as state officials announced a new statewide appointment system for COVID-19 vaccinations Officials believe the program will be ready within weeks but did not provide a specific start date.
The new site hopes to bring order to the chaos of Florida’s rollout of vaccines to its most vulnerable residents.
“I know it feels chaotic — 67 different counties, systems and interpretations — but health care is delivered at the local level,” Florida’s director of emergency management said Thursday.
He said a registration system could help alleviate the strain counties are now under as they deliver vaccinations.
Gov. Ron DeSantis is imploring people who are vaccinated to make sure they return for their second shot. State records show of the nearly 850,000 people who have received at least one shot, more than 40,000 are overdue for their booster shot.
[READ YESTERDAY’S REPORT: Florida reports 13,000 new COVID-19 cases, 222 deaths]
Below is a breakdown of Florida COVID-19 data reported by the state on Jan. 15:
Cases
The Florida Department of Health reported 16,549 new cases on Friday, bringing the state’s overall total to 1,548,067 cases since the coronavirus pandemic began in March.
Deaths
Florida reported 188 new virus-related deaths Friday, raising the death toll to 24,169. This number includes the 370 non-residents who died in Florida.
Hospitalizations
As of Friday afternoon, there were currently 7,528 people with the virus hospitalized in Florida, according to the state Agency for Health Care Administration.
Since March, 67,463 people have been hospitalized in Florida after complications from COVID-19. That number includes the 427 new patients who have been recently hospitalized due to the virus, according to the health department’s daily report released on Friday.
Positivity rate
The positivity rate for new infections out of the 162,720 tests reported Thursday was 10.17%
Health officials say the rate should remain between 5% and 10% to prove a community has a hold of the virus and is curbing infections.
Vaccinations
The Florida Department of Health recently began releasing a daily report on COVID-19 vaccines administered throughout the state.
As of Friday, 849,317 people have been vaccinated in Florida. The FDOH also reports that 79,552 people have received their second shot. However, 40,661 people are overdue for their second vaccination.
[Register for the COVID-19 vaccine in Florida here]
See COVID-19 data for the Central Florida region below:
| County | Cases | New cases | Hospitalizations | New hospitalizations | Deaths | New Deaths | Vaccinated (first shot) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brevard | 25,585 | 378 | 1,590 | 28 | 572 | 8 | 20,961 |
| Flagler | 4,631 | 66 | 264 | 5 | 52 | 0 | 3,523 |
| Lake | 18,962 | 209 | 1,057 | 4 | 349 | 10 | 19,649 |
| Marion | 21,788 | 374 | 1,435 | 8 | 529 | 4 | 13,953 |
| Orange | 91,626 | 1,025 | 2,087 | 15 | 824 | 1 | 52,276 |
| Osceola | 30,056 | 323 | 1,138 | 2 | 326 | 0 | 8,803 |
| Polk | 44,755 | 503 | 3,545 | 32 | 884 | 10 | 15,050 |
| Seminole | 21,581 | 247 | 967 | 1 | 335 | 2 | 20,735 |
| Sumter | 6,265 | 51 | 421 | 5 | 126 | 1 | 6,274 |
| Volusia | 27,024 | 493 | 1,376 | 16 | 470 | 0 | 19,054 |
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