BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. – A COVID-19 patient is back home after leaving Health First Viera Hospital on Wednesday after more than 15 days of care.
Michael Cox, 59, said he got sick Aug. 1, got tested and went to the hospital.
“I had been vaccinated, but it hit me pretty hard,’’ Cox said about his symptoms.
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When he left the hospital, the staff gave him a standing ovation.
“They’re all there cheering, celebrating. They were super, just can’t say enough about them,” Cox said.
Health First said of its 286 COVID patients, Cox was in the 2% who are vaccinated.
Staffing, according to Brevard County’s health department, continues to be an issue at hospitals, and the ICUs are struggling. State Representative Randy Fine, R-Palm Bay, spoke during the county’s weekly COVID news conference Friday.
“I just came here, actually from a funeral, from someone who died of COVID so this is real,” Rep. Fine said.
The Department of Health in Brevard reported an infection rate that was lower than the previous week.
“We’re hopeful that that’s starting the downward trend, but I’m a little reluctant to state that we are headed downward at this point,” Community Health Director John Davis said.
Friday’s panel continued recommending the unvaccinated get the shot which Cox and his wife both said they have received.
“At first, I didn’t think it would be as serious as it was because we both had the shots,” Sharon Cox said. “It was definitely scary, but I’m so thankful to have him home,” Sharon Cox said.