Tampa Bay assisted-living facilities see cases rise. Whereâs the vaccine?
Fewer than half of the facilities have received coronavirus vaccines while doses go out to the larger population.
Â
Â
Gail Unold, 75, wears a bandage after receiving her first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine in December at Gulf Shore Care Center in Pinellas Park. [ MARTHA ASENCIO RHINE | Times ]
Updated Jan. 22
Residents and staff of A Country Place, a Town âN Country assisted-living facility, were supposed to get their coronavirus shots this week, said Robert Loomis, facility administrator.
But the vaccination scheduling process was going too slow for Loomis. So he called Walgreens, their selected provider, and asked for an earlier date.
Assisted Living facilities receive COVID-19 vaccinations, some frustrated by slow rollout
Some long-term care facility residents feel forgotten
and last updated 2021-01-13 22:59:12-05
CLEARWATER, Fla. â Diana Leatherman, 78, has patiently waited for her turn to get the COVID-19 vaccine. I knew it would come one time or another, said Leatherman.
That time came on Wednesday for Leatherman and 140 residents and staff at Grand Villa of Clearwater, an assisted living facility, that received the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine from CVS. Instead of being nervous and anxious and counting the days, we spent our time doing the work we needed to do to prepare so when the day came we would be ready and we are, said Dawn Winder, Grand Villa of Clearwater executive director.
Florida officials heard the frustration of seniors in assisted living facilities and has hired a company to speed up the delivery of COVID vaccines to those sites.
By News Service Florida
Government Health Officials Testify On Coronavirus Vaccine Development
TALLAHASSEE - With more than 1,000 reported deaths in less than two weeks, the number of Florida residents who have died of COVID-19 exceeded 21,000 on Saturday, according to the state Department of Health.
The department’s website showed 21,135 residents have died since the pandemic started. Also, 302 non-residents have died in Florida.
The number of resident deaths increased by 140 from a Thursday count, as the department did not release statistics on Christmas Day. Florida exceeded 20,000 reported resident deaths on Dec. 14, hitting 20,003 that day.
Deaths, positive cases, and hospitalizations surged this fall and have continued into the early days of winter. As of Saturday, 1,264,588 people had tested positive since the pandemic started, an increase of 17,042 from Thursday.