Leon County hospitalizations continue to spike because of COVID-19; more vaccine arrives

As the number of local hospitalizations continues to spike, the Leon County Health Department has received 4,500 more doses of the two-part Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. 

Department officials announced the new shipment in a press release on Wednesday. To support local vaccination efforts, Leon County Emergency Management began sending out mass notifications on Friday to those registered for a vaccine appointment. 

The local health department reported that about 19,000 people should have received a text alert, while 12,500 responded to confirm to the message. 

The health department said it will contact people to schedule an appointment either by phone or by email. For those people who did not enter an email address in the initial days of vaccine registration, the department only will have a phone number on file. 

The health department has hosted seven vaccination clinics and given out 3,806 vaccines to date, the department said. 

As of Tuesday's data from the Florida Department of Health, 13,354 people in Leon County have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. 

Got questions? Here's your guide to coronavirus and COVID-19

Westminster Oaks vaccinations

Tallahassee senior living facility Westminster Oaks will be receiving a round of COVID-19 vaccines for all residents and staff. 

The city's largest senior community will host the vaccination clinic on Friday, Director of Communications Wes Meltzer said in an email. 

The vaccines also will cover those who live and work in the Health Center, the assisted living and independent living areas, the email read. 

Scheduling a second appointment

The local health department said on Wednesday officials are discussing how to host a weekly conversation on Zoom to discuss local vaccine efforts. 

The health department would partner with Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare. The conversations would bring in local community experts, including Health Officer Claudia Blackburn, according to the department's press release. 

The health department also is asking for people who have not been given a second appointment for a COVID-19 shot to send an email to LeonCHD.Feed-back@FLHealth.gov. 

The subject line should include the words "second dose." The body of the email should include: 

• Name
• Date of first dose
• Brand of vaccine 

Department officials will respond to the email with an appointment for the person's second dose of vaccine. 

Local COVID-19 update

Leon County has seen 233 more residents test positive for COVID-19 and two more residents die because of the virus, the Florida Department of Health reported on Thursday. 

To date, 14,555 Leon residents have been vaccinated by at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, the state health department reported. 

Leon County has had 22,254 residents test positive for the virus since March and 192 have died, according to state health department data. 

The median age of people who have tested positive during the past two weeks is roughly 36 years old, according to state data. 

Wakulla County also has had two more residents die because of the virus, the state health department confirmed. 

Of the 2,565 Wakulla residents to test positive since March, 31 have died, according to state data. 

State health officials organize case and death data by an individual's county of residence, which may not be where they were when they tested positive or died because of the virus. 

Local hospitalizations 

The number of people hospitalized in Leon County because of the COVID-19 virus continues to increase with 130 current in-patients.

Capital Regional Medical Center on Thursday reported that 81 inpatients were positive for the virus — 21 more people than in late December when CRMC reported its first record-breaking number of hospitalizations because of the virus. 

More:Coronavirus: CRMC sees highest number of inpatients; 253 more Leon residents positive

Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare reported on Thursday that 49 inpatients were positive for the virus. 

Both hospitals say they can expand capacity in the event of a continued surge.

As both hospitals are regional healthcare hubs for the Big Bend and Georgia, these numbers do not specifically mean the number of Leon County residents who are hospitalized. 

Contact CD Davidson-Hiers at 850-404-9403‬ or CDavidsonH@Tallahassee.com. Twitter: @DavidsonHiers. 

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