Updated at 3:05 p.m. March 10:
For prior updates, visit myescambia.com/news#coronavirus.
Vaccination Information:
- 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.
- Ascension Sacred Heart has collaborated with the Escambia County School District and the Santa Rosa County School District to provide district employees age 50 and older with the COVID-19 vaccine.
- More information will be coming from each school district to their eligible employees about how to schedule appointments. Any public or private school employee K-12 that has questions about vaccine scheduling or vaccine eligibility can send an email to: COVID19vaccinesupport@ascension.org.
- Baptist Health Care- Baptist Health Care has vaccine appointments available in the communities of Pensacola, Gulf Breeze and Jay, Florida while supplies last. Vaccinations will be given by appointment only to those who meet Florida eligibility criteria. Evening and weekend appointments have been added to accommodate work schedules, including those of school employees. Time and location will be provided once the appointment is confirmed.
COVID-19 vaccinations are currently designated for Florida residents who are one of the following:
- Age 65 or over
- Health care worker
- K-12 school employee 50 years of age and older
- Sworn law enforcement officer 50 years of age and older
- Firefighter 50 years of age and older
People who are in one of the allowable workforce groups must present an ID badge or proof of employment at the appointment.
Special Information for the Medically Vulnerable
People under the age of 65 who are medically vulnerable can receive the vaccine with completion of the COVID-19 Determination of Extreme Vulnerability form that is required by the state of Florida. The form must be completed and signed by a person’s physician and brought to the vaccination appointment. The form is available at ebaptisthealthcare.org/easyschedule.
How to Make a Vaccination Appointment
Appointments can be made one of three ways:
- Visit EasySchedule.com. Click “procedure appointment” and complete the registration.
- Email name and contact information to BHCVaccine@bhcpns.org.
- For those who do not have email/internet access, call 850.908.SHOT (7468), Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Community Health Northwest Florida- Community Health Northwest Florida is holding several COVID-19 vaccine clinics this week for residents of Florida who qualify, including those covered under the Governor’s latest Executive orders. This week’s Community Health COVID-19 Vaccine Clinics at Brownsville Community Center:
- March 8 (Monday) Walk-Up Clinic 8 a.m. – 3 p.m. (No appointment required)
- March 9 (Tuesday) Appointment Clinic 8 a.m.. – 3 p.m.
- March 10 (Wednesday) Appointment Clinic 3 p.m. – 7 p.m. (Special afternoon hours)
- March 12 (Friday) Appointment Clinic 8 a.m. – 3 p.m.
- March 13 (Saturday) from 8 am – 3 pm, Community Health Northwest Florida will hold a special Johnson and Johnson “One Shot” Vaccine clinic at Brownsville Community Center, 3200 West DeSoto Street in Pensacola. Appointments are required. Eligible persons who wish to be scheduled for this special Saturday vaccination event should call the Community Health COVID-19 Vaccine Call Center at 850-439-3358 to make an appointment.
Currently the amended order expands the groups eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine in Florida to include persons under 65 who are "medically vulnerable", as well as individuals who hold specific jobs that put them at high risk. All participants will be required to show photo ID as well as proof of qualifying condition/job when they arrive.
For more information on COVID-19 Vaccine Events, call our Vaccine Call Center at 850-439-3358.
Eligibility criteria for COVID-19 vaccine events:
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Persons 65 years of age and older;
- Adults 18 an older deemed medically vulnerable by a physician with the following:
- If a current Community Health Northwest Florida patient and medically vulnerable, no form is required. All K-12 school employees, all ages; must show a badge from their school. (Current Executive Order does not include educators beyond K-12).
- Daycare workers; badge or paystub required as proof of employment in daycare setting.
- Long-term care facility residents and staff;
- Health care personnel with direct patient contact;
- Sworn law enforcement officers 50 years of age and older; and
- Firefighters 50 years of age and older.
- Patients may have their doctor fill out a State of Florida “COVID Vulnerability Determination” form or bring a doctor’s note/prescription stating the condition that qualifies the patient or current prescription bottles of the medication that treats the pre-existing condition.
- 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/.
The Federal Retail Pharmacy Program
- 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.
Escambia County
- Hospital Information totals
- Hospitalizations 57 (current hospitalizations as of 2:30 p.m. March 10, 2021)
- Bed Capacity 1,397 (county SITREP)
- Bed Occupancy 1,128 (county SITREP)
- Beds Available 382 (as of 2:30 p.m. March 10, 2021)
- Total Ventilators 215 (as of 2:30 p.m. March 10, 2021)
- Available Ventilators 142 (as of 2:30 p.m. March 10, 2021)
- Recovered 33,203* (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 97.91% (as of 2:30 p.m. March 10, 2021)
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ICYMI: District 1 Commissioner Jeff Bergosh held his virtual 59th Coffee with the Commissioner event Wednesday, March. 10. Speakers included Escambia County Administrator Janice Gilley, Interim Public Safety Director Eric Gilmore and special guest, Michael Kimbrel, the co-founder of Satoshi Forest and the director of the Alfred Washburn Center. Discussions included county's response to COVID-19, vaccinations, CARES Act expenditures, and the ongoing issue of homelessness. Did you miss the livestream? Watch it at https://youtu.be/sykMLEw3SdM
- 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, 1,222 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)
- 979 negative
- 1 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
- Pursuant to EO 21-47, the State Department has published a form for physicians to certify that they have determined an individual to be extremely vulnerable to COVID-19 and eligible to receive the vaccine. Click here to access the form.
- 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 10, 49,640 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 10, Escambia County has had 34,268 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 645 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.
CDC Issues First Set of Guidelines on How Fully Vaccinated People Can Visit Safely with Others
- On Monday, March 8, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued its first set of recommendations on activities that people who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 can safely resume.
- The new guidance includes recommendations for how and when a fully vaccinated individual can visit with other people who are fully vaccinated and with other people who are not vaccinated. This guidance represents a first step toward returning to everyday activities in our communities. CDC will update these recommendations as more people are vaccinated, rates of COVID-19 in the community change, and additional scientific evidence becomes available.
- Visit with other fully vaccinated people indoors without wearing masks or staying 6 feet apart.
- Visit with unvaccinated people from one other household indoors without wearing masks or staying 6 feet apart if everyone in the other household is at low risk for severe disease.
- Refrain from quarantine and testing if they do not have symptoms of COVID-19 after contact with someone who has COVID-19.
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A person is considered fully vaccinated two weeks after receiving the last required dose of vaccine. CDC recommends that fully vaccinated people continue to take these COVID-19 precautions when in public, when visiting with unvaccinated people from multiple other households, and when around unvaccinated people who are at high risk of getting severely ill from COVID-19:
- Wear a well-fitted mask.
- Stay at least 6 feet from people you do not live with.
- Avoid medium- and large-sized in-person gatherings.
- Get tested if experiencing COVID-19 symptoms.
- Follow guidance issued by individual employers.
- Follow CDC and health department travel requirements and recommendations.
CDC has released resources to help people make informed decisions when they are fully vaccinated.
Florida Division of Emergency Management
Governor's Press Office
- Governor Ron DeSantis issued Executive Order 21-62 (Amending Executive Order 20-315 - Vaccine Administration/Protecting Florida’s Seniors), which takes effect on Monday, March 15, 2021. Executive Order 21-62 expands COVID-19 vaccination in Florida to include the following:
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During this first phase of vaccine administration, all providers administering any COVID-19 vaccine shall only vaccinate the following populations:
- Long-term care facility residents and staff.
- Persons 60 years of age and older. (effective March 15)
- 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)
- Governor Ron DeSantis announced that CVS Health will administer COVID-19 vaccines at 76 additional CVS Pharmacy locations across Florida. The additional 76 retail locations announced today are in addition to the 81 stores previously announced by Governor DeSantis in February, bringing the total number of CVS Health vaccination sites to 157. These include CVS Pharmacy, CVS Pharmacy y más and Navarro Discount Pharmacy locations.
- The additional 76 participating CVS Pharmacy locations are in the following counties: Alachua, Broward, Charlotte, Collier, Columbia, Duval, Escambia, Gulf, Hamilton, Hernando, Hillsborough, Lee, Leon, Marion, Miami-Dade, Orange, Osceola, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, Putnam, Seminole, St. Johns, and Volusia. As more supply becomes available the company will expand to more store locations and in more Florida communities.
