It was the deadliest seven-day stretch of the pandemic for Flagler County. Over the weekend the tally rose to 60, and today the Health Department reported eight additional deaths, all senior citizens, bringing Flagler County’s total to 68. Second-dose shot vaccines were set to begin this week, along with a new batch of first-dose vaccines.
Health & Society
Anti-Vaccine Activists Are Peddling False Claims That Covid Shots Are Deadly, Undermining Vaccination
Anti-vaccine groups are exploiting the suffering and death of people who happen to fall ill after receiving a covid shot, threatening to undermine the largest vaccination campaign in U.S. history. In some cases, anti-vaccine activists are fabricating stories of deaths that never occurred.
Ask the Doctor: No, Vaccines Contain No Aborted Fetus Tissue, Socializing Without Masks, Politics of Vaccines
Dr. Stephen Bickel answers two dozen new questions, including about the politics and logistics of the vaccine rollout, whether vaccinated people may socialize without masks, and numerous specific questions about the vaccine and beyond it.
Senate Pandemic Preparedness Chairman to Advocates of Covid-Safety Lockdowns: Drop Dead
Businesses will remain open for the economic well-being of the state even as covid-19 cases continue to surge in Florida, the head of a Senate select committee on the pandemic said this week.
“We’ve Let the Worst Happen”: Reflecting on 400,000 Dead
A reporter who’s covered the pandemic from the start examines the toll covid-19 has taken on the country and what to expect from a new president.
Surgeon General: No Idea When Florida Will Get More Vaccines, Or How Many Doses
Surgeon General Scott Rivkees said in the statewide phone call that he does not know when additional “first doses” of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines will be sent to the state or how many doses would be in a potential future delivery.
AdventHealth Palm Coast Will Build a $100 Million, 100-Bed Hospital on Palm Coast Parkway
In a surprise, AdventHealth officials today announced the system will build a $100 million, 100-bed hospital on the south side of Palm Coast Parkway, adjacent to Market Street, the assisted living facility, with construction starting in September.
Flagler’s Covid Deaths Jump by 4, to 57; 800 New Vaccines Delivered; Second Dose Shipment Due Friday
As has become almost ritualistically routine since before Christmas, grimmer reports of covid’s toll are colliding with more hopeful if fitful news. That was the case again today in Flagler with a new vaccine shipment and the first decline in confirmed covid cases in five weeks, though case loads remain very high.
5 Reasons to Wear a Mask Even After You’re Vaccinated
Even people who are receiving their second dose of the vaccine are choosing to keep wearing masks, as much to protect themselves as to protect others, since the vaccines may not prevent you from spreading the coronavirus and herd or community immunity is still a very long way off.
Biden Terms Vaccine Rollout ‘A Dismal Failure’ as He Unveils Pandemic Response Plan
During his Thursday speech outlining what he’s dubbed the “American Rescue Plan,” Biden made several claims about the current response to the pandemic and how it’s affecting Americans. Statements are fact-checked and given context.
As Covid Patient Load Keeps Breaking Records at AdventHealth Palm Coast, ER Director Gives Inside Look
As the Covid-19 patient load reaches 35–the hospital is licensed for 113 beds–Dr. Paul Mucciolo, AdventHealth Palm Coast’s ER medical director until last year, and the Chief of Staff since, details the hospital’s response and challenges to a record surge.
AdventHealth Offers Rapid Covid-19 Testing at Orlando International Airport
Travelers have a new option for receiving a quick and convenient test for COVID-19 as AdventHealth has opened a COVID-19 testing site inside a terminal at Orlando International Airport.
Ask the Doctor: Securing Your 2nd Vaccine Dose, Why So Little Supply, Death or Adverse Reactions
Dr. Stephen Bickel answers questions about the short supply of Covid vaccines, the potency of the first shot and what happens if the second shot is delayed, where to get the second shot, and specific questions on the vaccine’s content, adverse reactions and other issues.
2 Covid Deaths Raise Flagler’s Total to 52; State Emergency Management Chief Rips Federal Vaccine Rollout
Bob Snyder, who heads the state-controlled Flagler County Health Department, said he expects some more doses next week, but he doesn’t know how many, while the head of state emergency management blamed the federal government’s rollout, detailing its obstacles, in unusually blunt language for a member of the DeSantis administration.
Florida Bill Proposes Abortion Ban After 5 Months
Anti-abortion proponents are eager to test Roe v. Wade and other precedents in light of the the more conservative new make-up of the U.S. Supreme Court.
Leading Senate Republican Says DeSantis Hasn’t Been Forthcoming About Flawed Vaccine Rollout
Sen. Aaron Bean, R-Fernandina Beach, said during a meeting of the Senate Health Policy Committee that there is statewide frustration over the vaccine rollout and that DeSantis administration officials need to provide the public with a “clear direction” about the state’s plans.
Covid Vaccine Now Available to 65 and Over at 4 Publix Stores in Palm Coast and Flagler Beach
Publix Supermarkets is making “a limited number of Covid-19 vaccines” available at four Publix stores in Flagler County starting now. But as has been the case with vaccines offered by local health departments in Flagler and elsewhere, all available vaccine appointments were snapped up as soon as they were made available.
Covid and Quarantines Force Flagler Beach City Commission to Cancel Its Meeting Thursday
After its interim city manager and a building department employee tested positive for the coronavirus, the city got a recommendation from the health department to not hold the meeting as some city officials who may have been exposed to infected personnel are required to be under quarantine until the weekend.
Ask the Doctor: Visions of Vaccines Dance In Our Heads
FlaglerLive today is fortunate and proud to be launching the “Ask the Doctor” column, by Dr. Stephen Bickel, the medical director at the Flagler and Volusia Counties Health Departments. You are invited to submit your Covid, vaccine and other medical-related questions. Dr. Bickel will answer them here on a regular basis.
Ask the Doctor: Frequently Asked Questions Archive
The Ask the Doctor archive of questions frequently asked and linked to the answers provided by Dr. Stephen Bickel of the Flagler and Volusia Health Departments. The Ask the Doctor feature is a regular feature on FlaglerLive.
‘Zero Doses’ of Vaccines for Flagler This Week, ‘Few If Any’ Over Next 5 as Covid Surges Amid Warnings of Bleak Months
The state is sending what little supply of vaccines it has elsewhere for the next five weeks: The Villages qualify, Flagler does not. So even people due for their second shot may not get it as Flagler County’s Covid numbers surge to their worst levels yet. Bob Snyder, who heads the Flagler County Health Department, spoke as if at a wake when he updated government officials this morning, and in many ways it was.
A Day of Grim Covid Records in Flagler County and the Nation as Local Hospital Is in ‘Red Status’ and Vaccines Dry Up
Flagler County’s coronavirus case load broke another record this week for the fourth successive week, with a quarter of the pandemic’s cases confirmed in just the last four weeks, overburdening local hospitals and triggering a “red status” there, meaning a triage system for certain procedures. Their vaccine supply depleted, Flagler officials have “no idea” when it will be replenished.
State Investigating Whether Members of Palm Beach Country Club Got Preferential Vaccine Treatment
The Washington Post reported Tuesday that MorseLife made the vaccinations “available not just to its residents but to board members and those who made generous donations to the facility, including members of the Palm Beach Country Club, according to multiple people who were offered access, some of whom accepted it.”
Flagler Emergency Chief on Vaccines: ‘We Are Doing Our Best with the Resources that We Have’
Flagler County Emergency Management Chief Jonathan Lord explains the county’s covid-19 vaccine response, its constraints, what it’s learned from the experience and what lies ahead in the rollout.
In 1st Loss Since April, Economy Sheds 140,000 Jobs as Pandemic Worsens and Vaccines Lag
After seven months of gains that had recovered more than half the jobs lost in spring, the national economy lost 140,000 jobs in December as the coronavirus pandemic worsened and efforts to contain it failed, with a president largely absent from governance and leadership since before the election.
As Rollout Criticism of DeSantis Grows, 22 Publix Stores Will Provide Covid Vaccine, None Near Flagler
The state is directing 15,000 vaccine doses to 22 Publix stores across the three Central Florida counties as the administration works to increase the number of locations where people age 65 and older can go to receive inoculations. DeSantis’ announcement comes amid a wave of criticism about the governor’s handling of the vaccine rollout.
Teachers and School Staff Will Still Not Be Prioritized for Covid Vaccine, DeSantis Says
The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices lists teachers and school employees as part of roughly 30 million “frontline essential workers” who should be prioritized for vaccinations. But DeSantis has repeatedly said that his focus is on Florida’s seniors.
Flagler Vaccine Slots Run Out Within Minutes as Callers Overwhelm County; New Local Cases Rage Out of Control
Appointments for a little over 900 vaccine doses available in Flagler for people 65 and over were snapped up within minutes this afternoon, leaving thousands disappointed, angry and questioning the rollout, though Flagler health and county officials are not responsible for the shortage of vaccines distributed locally so far.
600 Are Vaccinated at Flagler County Fairgrounds in 1st of Many Rounds As Crush of Cars Stretches to U.S. 1
Flagler County’s first large-scale vaccination event drew health care workers and people 65 and over. No one was turned away at the Flagler County Fairgrounds, where the next round is expected Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, but by appointment only.
Is the Hobbled Distribution of Vaccines the Biggest Trump Screw Up Yet?
Some 7.7 million first doses of vaccines have been shipped to date (two million shots have been given), with a target of 16 million by the end of the year. This is warp speed?
More Than 2,900 Health Care Workers Died This Year. The Government Barely Kept Track.
Fatalities from the coronavirus among health workers have skewed young, with the majority of victims under age 60. People of color have been disproportionately affected, accounting for about 65% of deaths. Yet disinformation continues to paint the wrong picture about who’s dying.
Festive New Year Atmosphere as Flagler County’s 1st Responders and Health Department Workers Get Vaccines
It was a festive atmosphere Tuesday afternoon in a classroom of Flagler County’s Emergency Operations Center, temporarily converted into a shooting gallery: over the course of an hour, some 20 people, most of them firefighter-paramedics, some of them Department of Health employees, sat for their first shot of the Covid-19 vaccine, Moderna edition.
In-Person Jury Trials Suspended in Flagler Until at Least Late January as Covid Trolls
There will be no in-person jury trials in Flagler County until at least January 19 due to the very high incidence of coronavirus cases in the county. The county in the week ending last Saturday broke yet another record in confirmed cases for the previous seven days, with a total of 270, and a cumulative total exceeding 3,500.
More Than 1,000 Covid Vaccines Arrive at Flagler Health Department, Inoculations of 1st Responders Start Tuesday
The Flagler County Health Department on Monday took delivery of more than 1,000 vials of Moderna Covid-19 vaccine. Inoculations begin Tuesday and Wednesday with first responders and health care workers. It’s still not exactly known when doses will arrive for people 65 and over, who are next in line for the vaccine, but it’ll be soon.
Ahead of Frigid Christmas Nights, Beachfront Grille Cooks Up 150 Meals for Homeless and Needy
Beachfront Grille in Flagler Beach teamed up with the Sheltering Tree, the cold-weather shelter for the homeless, and Mayor Linda Provencher to provide 150 Christmas meals for the homeless and the needy.
DeSantis Names 5 to Halifax Health Board of Commissioners
Gov. Ron DeSantis announced the re-appointment of Glenn Ritchey, Carl “Rick” Lentz and Ed Connor to the Halifax Health Board of Commissioners, as well as the appointment of Alan Florez and Michael Munier to the seven-member board, which oversees Halifax hospital in Daytona Beach.
Going Against CDC, DeSantis Orders Vaccine Priority for 65 and Older, Not Teachers and Other Essential Workers
The DeSantis order contradicts Centers for Disease Control guidelines issued on Tuesday that recommend that, once health care and long-term care workers and residents have received the vaccine, the next groups should not be defined only by age, but also by critical front-line jobs, including teachers and school employees, and underlying conditions.
Local Governments Seek Re-Hearing in Federal Case That Allowed ‘Conversion Therapy’ Targeting LGBTQ Youths
Local Florida ordinances that a federal court found unconstitutional had barred therapists from providing treatment or counseling that is designed to change minors’ sexual orientation or gender identity. Critics of such therapy say it harms minors who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender.
Internal Tally Puts Flagler’s Covid Deaths at 50, Two More Than Public Dashboard; 4 Connected to Social Club
The internal Florida Health Department spreadsheet, obtained by FlaglerLive, consolidates some previously undisclosed information and much information that had been disclosed to some extent in different ways and places previously.
As Biden Gets Sworn In, White House Will Get Deepest Scrub-Down
The General Services Administration will oversee a thorough cleaning and disinfection of every doorknob, toilet handle, light switch, stair railing, telephone, elevator button, computer keyboard and other objects inside the 55,000-square-foot mansion at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
Fired Analyst Rebekah Jones Sues FDLE Over Search of Her Home
Attorneys for fired Florida Department of Health analyst Rebekah Jones, who has drawn national attention for her battles with the DeSantis administration, argued in the lawsuit that a search warrant to enter her home Dec. 7 “was obtained in bad faith and with no legitimate object or purpose.”
Covid Deaths in Flagler at 47, Week’s Positive Cases Shatter Record in Evidence of Thanksgiving Spike as Vaccines Arrive
The 220 confirmed positive coronavirus cases in Flagler County in the week ending Saturday set a new single-week record in the county since the pandemic began in February. Local health officials caution that the numbers may get worse with Christmas and cold weather ahead, and broad-based vaccination still weeks away.
Covid Testing Schedule and Locations in Flagler-Palm Coast Through the End of the Year
The Florida Department of Health in Flagler County reaffirmed its weekday Covid-19 testing schedule for the weeks leading up to and following the Christmas and New Year holidays.
Covid-19 Vaccinations Begin at AdventHealth Daytona Beach
None of the vaccines are available to the general public yet because of limited supply, with some estimates predicting that it will be more available in the spring.
In Predominantly Black Hospital, Only a Third of Employees Sign Up for Covid Vaccine
Although hesitancy toward the vaccine is a challenge nationally, it’s a significant problem among Black adults because of their generations-long distrust of the medical community and racial inequities in health care.
Court’s Conservatives Are Right: Pandemic Limits on Houses of Worship Are Unconstitutional
The Supreme Court’s ruling overturning its own recent precedent to forbid attendance limits at houses of worship because of Covid was not an ideological decision so much as a victory for the First Amendment that liberals should be thankful for.
AdventHealth Marks ‘Milestone Week’ of Covid-19 Vaccinations
Capping a fast-moving and historic week in medical history, AdventHealth leaders shared optimism, celebrated triumphs, and continued their focus on administering vaccines to help conquer Covid-19.
On Eve of Tom Russell Memorial, School Board’s McDonald Downplays Covid Deaths and Calls for ‘Backing Off This Fear’ of Virus
Flagler County School Board member Janet McDonald falsely claimed at a workshop that overall deaths are down this year, that masks are harmful, testing unreliable, and that the district should focus on “wellness” rather than additionally “ramp-up” safety measures. She did so days from the memorial for Tom Russell, the FPC principal who died of complications from Covid.
Flagler Schools Will Replace Most Covid-Positive Alert Letters With Web-Based Dashboard Updated Daily
A new dashboard tracking positive Covid cases throughout the school district will go live Jan. 4. Parents and others have grown increasingly jaded with the Flagler school district’s drizzle of notification letters whenever positive Covid cases are confirmed.
New Training Program Addresses Post-Traumatic Stress in Law Enforcement Officers Across Florida
Officers are frequently exposed to violence and suffering while on duty, and experiencing extremely stressful events not only causes emotional stress, but can impact the brain and body, resulting in post-traumatic stress. However, officers often don’t recognize or have the tools to handle their own needs related to witnessing these stressful events.