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COVID Live Blog: Week Of Oct. 4

Mayra Heitman/WUWF

Thursday, Oct. 7
DOH-Okaloosa offering Pfizer boosters
The Florida Department of Health in Okaloosa County (DOH-Okaloosa) is providing Pfizer booster doses to eligible groups as well as first and second doses of COVID-19 vaccines. Appointments are recommended but not required. Appointments can be made by calling 850-344-0566.

COVID-19 boosters are currently recommended for certain individuals who received the Pfizer vaccine only.

The CDC recommends that people in the following groups should receive a booster shot of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at least six months after completion of their two-dose Pfizer series:

  • People ages 65 years and older 
  • Adults 18+ living in long-term care setting 
  • Adults 18+ with underlying medical conditions 
  • Adults 18+ who are at increased risk for COVID-19 exposure and transmission due to working or residing in certain settings 

Boosters doses only applies to those who received the Pfizer vaccine. Mixing vaccine types is not recommended.

DOH-Okaloosa provides COVID-19 vaccines Monday-Friday in Ft. Walton Beach-221 Hospital Drive NE and Tuesday only in Crestview-810 E. James Lee Blvd.

Fort Walton Beach 

  • Monday, Wednesday and Thursday 7:30 a.m. - 4 p.m. 
  • Tuesday 7:30 a.m. - 5 p.m. 
  • Friday 7:30 a.m. - 2 p.m. 

Crestview 

  • Tuesday 7:30 a.m. – 5 p.m. 

For other locations providing COVID-19 vaccines visit www.FloridaHealthCovid19.gov.

Wednesday, Oct. 6
Pensacola hospitalizations continue to drop
On Wednesday morning, Pensacola Mayor Grover Robinson shared the latest data on hospitalizations which show a drop from 328 on Sept. 2 to 96 on Oct. 6.

Monday, Oct. 4
Weekly COVID Update
The state's downtown in coronavirus cases and death continued last week according to data from the Florida Department of Health.

The state added 37,772 new cases last week, the lowest since the beginning of July. For the first time in six weeks, the majority of new cases were not among children under 12. Florida also added 1,719 deaths, the last time the state's death toll was below 2,000 was the week of Aug. 20.

Statewide, the positivity rate for new cases declined to 6.5% after hitting a peak of 19.8% the week of Aug. 13-19.

Hospitalizations also fell to 5,414, down almost 28% since last Friday.

Wednesday, Sept. 29

Okaloosa Weekly Report
Like the rest of the state, Okaloosa County continues to see a downward trend of COVID-19 hospitalizations, according to the weekly report from FDOH-Okaloosa. As of Wednesday's report, 34.1% of the county's ICU beds are full with COVID-19 patients. Of those patients, more than 70% are unvaccinated. The community risk level is still rated as "high." An additional 531 cases were added and the positivity rate is 12.3%. Forty-seven deaths were reported in the last seven days according to the CDC COVID Data Tracker. The FDOH report has ceased sharing the number of deaths.

Pensacola COVID Hospitalizations Update

Tuesday, Sept. 28

COVID-19 Patients Decrease In Florida Hospitals
Florida hospitals reported 6,423 inpatients with COVID-19 on Tuesday, according to numbers posted online by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The 6,423 patients were in 234 Florida hospitals, down from 6,731 patients in 260 hospitals in a Monday report. The number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients was less than half of the total at the beginning of September. In all, 79% of Florida hospital beds were reported as being used Tuesday. Florida saw huge increases in COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths in July and August as the highly contagious delta variant spread across the state. The number of cases and hospitalizations have gradually decreased in recent weeks.
— News Service of Florida

Monday, Sept. 27

Weekly COVID Update
Florida reported 56,325 coronavirus cases over the seven-day period from Sept. 17-23 in its weekly COVID report. The average is about 8,000 infections per day. There was a 26% drop in cases from the week before and the lowest weekly infection rate since early July. The state saw 2,340 COVID deaths over the past week although FDOH only reports Florida resident deaths and excludes non-resident data.

Community Health Northwest Florida Vaccination Clinic/Testing Schedule
The Community Health Northwest Florida Vaccination Clinic continues Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Brownsville Community Center, located at 3200 W. DeSoto St. The Moderna vaccine will be available to ages 18 and up; no Johnson & Johnson vaccine OR Pfizer vaccine at this time.

Drive-through Testing continues Wednesdays & Fridays at Cantonment Pediatrics, 470 S Hwy 29 Unit B, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. For more information, visit healthcarewithinreach.org.