As Florida sees 6,341 new COVID-19 cases, some counties work with state data to get more vaccines to areas in need

ORLANDO, Fla. – As vaccination efforts continue, many counties are relying on state data to determine how to get more vaccines to areas in need.

Earlier this week, Orange County’s access to the Florida Department of Health’s database was revoked after the release of vaccine distribution rates by zip code. News 6 is now learning other counties also do not have access to this data, including Seminole County, where officials say the data isn’t needed because it’s easily accessible through the Seminole County branch of the FDOH.

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According to state COVID-19 data, Volusia County saw its highest single-day increase in hospitalizations Friday with 23 new hospitalizations, but health officials are not tying the increase to a single event. The county said it is anticipating more than 200,000 attendees at Daytona Beach for Jeep Beach week, which kicks off Monday.

“COVID-19 related hospitalizations have increased. The increase in hospitalizations cannot be tied to a specific event, but the CDC still recommends both unvaccinated and fully vaccinated people wear masks while in public and avoid medium or large-sized public gatherings,” the county said in response.

With the pause in Johnson & Johnson vaccines statewide, the Florida Division of Emergency Management canceled all its mobile vaccination events for this weekend. The press secretary for FDEM said in a statement that these mobile sites are crucial to vaccinating underserved communities throughout the state.

FEMA-backed vaccination sites will once again administer the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine starting next week. Prior to this change, the sites used J&J vaccines as they continued to offer the second dose of the Pfizer vaccine.

[READ YESTERDAY’S REPORT: Experts predict longer wait for herd immunity as Florida reports 7,276 new COVID-19 cases ]

Find the state-run COVID-19 dashboard below:

Below is a breakdown of Florida COVID-19 data reported by the state on April 17.

Cases

The Florida Department of Health reported 6,341 new cases on Saturday, bringing the state’s overall total to 2,162,067 cases since the virus was first detected on March 1, 2020.

Deaths

Florida reported 74 new virus-related deaths Saturday, bringing the death toll to 35,074. This number includes the 670 non-residents who died in Florida.

Hospitalizations

As of Saturday afternoon, there were currently 3,253 people with the virus hospitalized in Florida, according to the state Agency for Health Care Administration.

Since last March, 88,130 people have been hospitalized in Florida after complications from COVID-19. That number includes the 187 new patients who have been recently hospitalized due to the virus, according to the health department’s daily report released on Saturday.

Positivity rate

The percent of positive results was 6.88% Friday out of 92,206 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 2020 on COVID-19 vaccines administered throughout the state.

FDOH reports 5,012,332 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 Saturday, 7,934,016 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 Saturday.

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