Covid cases fall off, vaccine drained

The local numbers dropped in the past week.

But not by much.

Meanwhile, tens of thousands of seniors awaited notice of vaccine appointments in Manatee County and apparently the supply of vaccine doses has been drained.

Between Jan. 8-15, 1,430 new cases of the novel coronavirus were reported to the Department of Health-Manatee County, a decrease from the week prior, when 1,586 new cases of the novel coronavirus were documented.

As of Jan. 15, 146 people in Holmes Beach, 61 people in Bradenton Beach and 43 people in Anna Maria had tested positive for the virus — an increase of nine cases for islanders compared with the week prior.

According to metrics provided by the DOH, as of Jan. 15, 25,743 people had tested positive for the virus in the county, with 454 fatalities and 1,168 hospitalizations.

Of those testing positive, 463 were nonresidents, compared with 427 the week prior.

Meanwhile, the effort to vaccinate those 65 and older continued, but not without criticism about the pace and process.

Within the county, 13,919 people — mostly health care workers — were treated with the Moderna vaccine as of Jan. 15. This leaves an unknown number of people awaiting a second, required dose and more than 80,000 seniors waiting on a first dose of vaccine.

People can join the county’s standby pool by registering online at vax.mymanatee.org or by calling the county’s 311 call center for assistance. The call center operates 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Friday.

Edwin Michael, professor of epidemiology in the University of South Florida College of Public Health, has garnered statewide forecasts of the impact of vaccine rollouts.

Michael’s model shows that if there’s a 10% statewide increase in the number of individuals who wear face masks and reduce social activity, there would be 67,000 daily cases Feb. 13.

However, if individuals take fewer precautions, statewide there could be 172,500 daily cases by Feb. 14.

Model projections show that a slow rollout of the vaccine would lead to a peak of 113,500 daily cases in Florida by Feb. 18 if social distancing measures remain the same, according to the report.

Pandemic precautions, including face masks and social distancing, are believed to prevent 40%-45% community transmission, the USF report stated.

“If the size of the coming wave is not reduced by ramping up social mitigation measures, then it will lead to requirements for hospitalizations that will overwhelm the current capacity of the Tampa Bay hospital system,” Michael said in a news release.

On the island, Anna Maria and Holmes Beach mandate that people more than 6-years-old wear a face covering in public when closer than 6 feet to a person unrelated or from another household.

Bradenton Beach does not have such a mandate, requesting that people wear masks in businesses that request the measure.

Survey asks:
Shot in the arm, or not?

Tampa Bay researchers released the first national survey of attitudes about vaccines for the novel coronavirus.

Some findings from the University of South Florida’s school of public affairs include:

• A third of respondents said they “will definitely get vaccinated” in the coming months.
• About 59% said they will either “definitely” or “probably get vaccinated.”
• About 23% said they will “probably not” or “definitely not get vaccinated.”
• More than a quarter of respondents said they are either “not very confident” or “not at all confident” that the recently approved vaccines are effective in preventing the spread of the virus.
• About 71% said they are at least “somewhat concerned” about the potential side effects of the COVID-19 vaccines.
• Male respondents were more likely than female respondents to indicate they will get vaccinated.
• About 76% of those 65 and older said they “probably” or “definitely” will get the vaccine.
• Vaccination plans were lowest among middle-aged respondents, as 48% of those between 45 and 54 indicated they are likely to get vaccinated.
• Only 21% of Americans have talked to their primary care doctor about whether a COVID-19 vaccine is appropriate.
• The most commonly cited sources of information that respondents have used to learn about the COVID-19 vaccine include television news at 57%, friends, family and coworkers at 40% and social media at 32%.
• Two-thirds of respondents said they will “somewhat support” or “strongly support” a nationwide mask mandate, including penalties for non-compliance.
• About 51% indicated they will support “a national shutdown of nonessential businesses to slow the spread of the virus.”

The survey was conducted Jan. 9-12 with a margin of error at plus or minus 3%.