New Year’s Day brought the death of Carl Stephens’ only son.
Ozell Stephens Jr. suffered a stroke on Nov. 2. He was released from the hospital three weeks later and was recovering at a rehab facility. The 55-year-old still wasn’t able to walk as the new year approached, but could speak clearly. He called his mother every evening to say goodnight.
“I’d ask him how he was feeling and he’d say ‘Good,’” Carl said. “He talked about wanting to come home.”
On Jan. 1, Ozell was rushed from the rehab facility to Sarasota Memorial Hospital with a fever. Carl went to see her son at the hospital, where a doctor told her he had COVID-19, which is listed as the probable cause of his death in medical examiner records.
For the first time Saturday, Sarasota Memorial Hospital began vaccinations for people over 65. They plan to inoculate as many as 3,000 residents Saturday and Sunday.
As of Tuesday afternoon, Sarasota County has distributed 2,800 doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine to front line health care workers and seniors age 65 and older.
The county received 4,900 vaccines from the state and has plans to exhaust that number by Thursday afternoon. Two clinics are scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday where approximately 800 people will receive the vaccine each day.
County officials can administer about 100 vaccines an hour, Steve Huard, Florida Department of Health Sarasota Health Officer public information officer, said.
How to get the vaccine:
Availability: No new appointments were available as of Tuesday afternoon.
How to register: Visit Sarasota.FloridaHealth.gov and click on “Schedule Vaccine Appointments.” For more information call 861-2900.
Nov. 8 - Nov. 14: Eight
Nov. 15 - Nov. 21: 10
Nov. 22 - Nov. 28: Eight
Nov. 29 - Dec. 6: 10
Dec. 6-Dec 12: Two
Data courtesy of Sarasota County Department of Health
During a typical season, the population of the island goes from about 7,000 full-time residents to more than 21,000. Even if the 2020-2021 visitor season doesn’t rise to the traditional levels, there is still apprehension about accurate numbers and how cases are counted when they involve out of town residents who stay in Longboat for a period of time during the winter. Some of those cases are simply assigned to an out of state category, not a winter address.