Escambia County COVID-19 Update #287

Updated at  3 p.m. March 1:

For prior updates, visit myescambia.com/news#coronavirus.

Vaccination Information for Adults 65 and Older:

• Ascension Sacred Heart- Ascension Medical Group Sacred Heart began vaccinations for adults 65 and older on Jan. 6. Monitor the Sacred Heart Facebook page for more announcements. They will continue to hold clinics as supply becomes available.
• Baptist Health Care- Appointments are available at Baptist Health Care for COVID-19 vaccinations for individuals age 65 and older, frontline health care workers and individuals deemed by their physician to be extremely vulnerable to COVID-19. Appointments can be made online by visiting EasySchedule.com. Appointments are limited and new appointments will be added as Baptist receives more vaccine. 
  • If no appointment times are listed on the schedule, then no vaccine is available at that time. Appointment times will be added as more supplies are received. People are encouraged to check back daily. For questions or assistance with scheduling, email Baptist at BHCVaccine@bhcpns.org.

  • For the Medically Vulnerable:

    People under age 65 who are extremely vulnerable will need proof from their physician to obtain a vaccination at Baptist. They should:

    1. Contact their provider to request a letter/note stating they are medically vulnerable.
    2. Schedule an appointment at EasySchedule.com. 
    3. Take the note from their provider to their vaccine appointment.
• Florida Department of Health, Escambia County- FDOH-Escambia will schedule appointments based on supply availability. For the most up-to-date information, follow them on Twitter at @HealthyEscambia and visit EscambiaHealth.com. Escambia County residents should use the statewide preregistration system to sign up for vaccination. Residents can call the toll-free line at 866-201-1025 or register online at myvaccine.fl.gov. The TTY number for the deaf and hard of hearing is 833-476-1461. Registrants will be notified when appointments are available in their area. The State has established a help line at 833-959-0217 for those who need to make changes to their original pre-registration.
  • This pre-registration system will proactively contact vaccine-eligible individuals to schedule appointments when they are available at health department or emergency management vaccine sites. Appointments are opened based upon the vaccine supply received each week from the State of Florida. Please be aware that when Sharecare calls or texts you to schedule an appointment, they will NOT ask for financial information or social security information.
• Florida- Sign up for text message updates about the vaccine and distribution by texting "FLCOVID19" to 888777. After you submit the text message, it will ask you to supply your zip code for local-level updates. Information about the statewide vaccine distribution plan can be found at floridahealthcovid19.gov/covid-19-vaccines-in-florida/.

• CVS- CVS Health is partnering with several local state and federal programs to help administer the COVID-19 vaccine to eligible populations. Appointments will be available as they receive vaccines from these programs.
  • Register in advance at CVS.com or through the CVS Pharmacy app. People without online access can contact CVS customer service at (800) 746-7287.
  • Walk-in vaccinations without an appointment will not be provided.
• Publix - Publix is opening its online reservation system for COVID 19 vaccination appointments at all 730 of its in-store Florida pharmacies, including the addition of 136 stores in Broward and Miami Dade counties. Publix will continue to announce appointment dates. Monitor Publix's online portal here.

• Walmart and Sam's Club- Walmart and Sam’s Club pharmacies can now accept and administer federal allocations of the COVID-19 vaccine. Walmart and Sam’s Club are working with the federal government to help increase access to COVID-19 vaccines at select pharmacies in 22 states once vaccine doses are available, starting late next week.

  • Once a store or club receives allocation, the online scheduler will be available to make appointments at walmart.com/COVIDvaccine and samsclub.com/covid. 

• Winn-Dixie - View the Winn-Dixie online portal here. 

Escambia County

• Hospital Information totals
  • Hospitalizations 68 (current hospitalizations as of 2:30 p.m. March 1, 2021)
  • Bed Capacity 1,397  (county SITREP)
  • Bed Occupancy 1,128  (county SITREP)
  • Beds Available 442 (as of 2:30 p.m. March 1, 2021)
  • Total Ventilators 215 (as of 2:30 p.m. March 1, 2021)
  • Available Ventilators 142 (as of 2:30 p.m. March 1, 2021)
  • Recovered 33,016* (Approximate: total cases prior to last month minus deaths)
  • To view the county's Crude Case-Recovery Risk and a detailed explanation of the formula by which it is calculated, visit the Escambia County COVID-19 dashboard. The current Crude Case-Recovery Risk is 97.93% (as of 2:30 p.m. March 1, 2021)

• Testing sites
• Rapid testing information
  • Appointments are available for Escambia County residents who are 3 months and older and are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms. Patients desiring COVID-19 testing through Ascension Sacred Heart's locations in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties should pre-register online by visiting: www.getsacredheartcare.com to be pre-screened and scheduled (if eligible) or call Community Health Northwest Florida at 850-390-4276. Rapid testing is offered for symptomatic individuals by appointment only. 
• Escambia County dashboard

Escambia County Corrections

• Cumulatively, 1,171 Escambia County inmates have been tested:
  • 242 positive (220 have been medically cleared, and 22 have been released from custody, leaving 0 active, positive cases at this time)
  • 929 negative
  • 0 pending
• At the Walton County jail, 29 Escambia County inmates tested positive out of the 146 inmates housed there. 

Florida Department of Health in Escambia County

• Escambia County residents should use the statewide preregistration system to sign up for vaccination. Residents can call the toll-free line at 866-201-1025 or preregister online at myvaccine.fl.gov. The TTY number for the deaf and hard of hearing is 833-476-1461. Registrants will be notified when appointments are available in their area. The State has established a help line at 833-959-0217 for those who need to make changes to their original pre-registration. This pre-registration system will proactively contact vaccine-eligible individuals to schedule appointments when they are available at health department or emergency management vaccine sites. Appointments are opened based upon the vaccine supply received each week from the State of Florida. Please be aware that when ShareCare calls you to schedule an appointment, they will NOT ask for financial information or social security information.
• If you have pre-registered, we ask for your patience. The demand is high, and the supply is currently limited. As we received vaccine, we work to schedule appointments as quickly as we can. We encourage residents to take advantage of opportunities offered through other partners to get vaccinated.
• State Surgeon General Scott Rivkees issued a Public Health Advisory on January 21 prioritizing vaccines for residents of the State of Florida or individuals in Florida for the purpose of providing health care services involving direct contact with patients.
• FDOH-Escambia highlights recent efforts in providing the COVID-19 vaccine in Escambia County.
• FDOH-Escambia announced this week’s COVID-19 vaccine distribution plan in Escambia County in partnership with Ascension Sacred Heart, Baptist Health Care, Community Health Northwest Florida, West Florida Hospital and Woodlands Medical Specialists.
• Florida has launched a COVID-19 Vaccine Report that will be updated daily. As of March 1, 40,816 Escambia County residents have been vaccinated.
• The Florida Department of Health (the Department) issued a Public Health Advisory recommending the following: all individuals in Florida should wear face coverings in any setting where social distancing is not possible and all individuals should refrain from participation in social or recreational gatherings of more than 10 people.
• As of 2 p.m., March 1, Escambia County has had 33,713 positive COVID-19 cases. This number is expected to change daily due to the return of results from ongoing testing. The best source for up-to-date information regarding confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Florida is the Florida Department of Health website and the associated Data and Surveillance Dashboard and Daily Report. The site is currently updated once daily, at around 3 p.m. ET.
• The total number of COVID-19 related deaths in Escambia County residents is 631 individuals.
• The Department releases a list of long-term care facilities in Florida associated with COVID-19 cases with active cases and number of deaths in each facility in order to provide real-time data. The list of long-term care facilities with active COVID-19 cases is available here.

Florida Division of Emergency Management

• The State of Florida Provided Week 11 Updates of vaccine distribution. The Florida Department of Health issued an update on the progress of the state's vaccination efforts, as well as its weekly COVID-19 update.

•  FDEM is seeking volunteers that can administer the vaccine such as doctors, nurses and physician assistants. Please register at www.merits.com/fdem-volunteers, choose the county and then signup.

Governor's Press Office

• Governor Ron DeSantis signed Executive Order 21-46 and Executive Order 21-47 (amending Executive Order 20-315) which outlines that providers can only administer the COVID-19 vaccine to the following groups:

  • Long-term care facility residents and staff.
  • Persons 65 years of age and older.
  • Health care personnel with direct patient contact.
  • K-12 school employees 50 years of age and older. (effective March 3)
  • Sworn law enforcement officers 50 years of age and older. (effective March 3)
  • Firefighters 50 years of age and older. (effective March 3)
  • Persons deemed to be extremely vulnerable to COVID-19 by hospital providers. (effective Feb. 26)

U.S. Food and Drug Administration

• The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued an emergency use authorization (EUA) for the third vaccine (Johnson & Johnson) for the prevention of COVID-19.