Central Florida works to vaccinate college students as state tallies 5,459 new COVID cases

ORLANDO, Fla. – With Florida now vaccinating people 16 and older, Central Florida universities are working to get shots to their respective students.

Rollins College in Winter Park opened its vaccination clinic Tuesday in partnership with Orange County. The college said it would be vaccinating students who live on campus first before opening appointments to off-campus students, faculty and staff.

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Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings said getting doses to Rollins College is part of the county’s strategy to mitigate the virus.

“This age group accounts for a high positivity rate, so vaccinating and working within the outreach for this group is essential,” Demings said Monday during a countywide coronavirus briefing.

The county has also tapped the University of Central Florida to be part of the effort.

With nearly 72,000 students enrolled, the university has the largest student body in the state. Demings added that providing shots to UCF will help the county’s overall vaccination efforts.

The university started accepting appointments on Monday. UCF said, for now, shots will be given to students in the Orlando area.

[How and where to get the COVID-19 vaccine in Florida]

Crews will vaccinate students who opt for a shot at a makeshift clinic in the Pegasus Ballroom on campus, slated to open Wednesday, with vaccinations running through Friday, according to the university’s dedicated coronavirus vaccine webpage. University officials said appointments will be made through the student experience section in the UCF Mobile app.

[READ YESTERDAY’S REPORT: As all adults can now get vaccinated, Florida sees 3,572 new COVID-19 infections]

Find the state-run COVID-19 dashboard below:

Below is a breakdown of Florida COVID-19 data reported by the state on April 6.

Cases

The Florida Department of Health reported 5,459 new cases on Tuesday, bringing the state’s overall total to 2,090,862 cases since the virus was first detected on March 1, 2020.

Deaths

Florida reported 70 new virus-related deaths Tuesday bringing the death toll to 34,434. This number includes the 654 non-residents who died in Florida.

Hospitalizations

As of Tuesday afternoon, there were currently 3,011 people with the virus hospitalized in Florida, according to the state Agency for Health Care Administration.

Since last March, 86,065 people have been hospitalized in Florida after complications from COVID-19. That number includes the 265 new patients who have been recently hospitalized due to the virus, according to the health department’s daily report released on Tuesday.

Positivity rate

The percent of positive results was 6.89% Monday out of 79,282 tests. The numbers reported daily by the state reflect test results from the day prior. 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 began releasing a daily report in December on COVID-19 vaccines administered throughout the state.

FDOH reports 3,769,667 people are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. These individuals either received the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine or completed a two-shot series.

As of Tuesday, 6,437,330 people have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine.

Below is the Central Florida region breakdown of new cases, deaths and hospitalizations for Tuesday.

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