19,816 Positive Coronavirus Cases In A Day Added To FL Numbers

FLORIDA — Gov. Ron DeSantis held a press conference Thursday in Indian River County at one of Florida's new drive-thru vaccination sites.

DeSantis tweeted that 500 senior citizens per day will get the vaccines at Vero Beach Fairgrounds & Expo. According to the Florida Department of Health, as of Jan. 7, 384,223 people in Florida have received the vaccine. Out of those, 369, 622 have received the first dose and 14,601 have completed the series. The vaccine requires two doses.

"We're seeing health systems throughout Florida do several thousand shots a day at this point," DeSantis said. "And many of the hospitals have already completed giving vaccines to their healthcare workers."

Florida has seen a steep increase of 19,816 positive coronavirus cases in 24 hours. The Florida Department of Health's website reported 1,429,722 positive cases Thursday since it began reporting numbers in March. Statewide hospitalizations are at 64,704 and coronavirus-related deaths are at 22,817.

In Bradenton, DeSantis also held a Thursday press conference at Tom Bennett Park, a Manatee County location that provides the vaccine to frontline workers and those 65 and older. The county has recently adopted a vaccine lottery system. Whenever more doses are available, names from this pool will be randomly selected to receive the vaccine. These individuals will receive a call to set up an appointment time.

"Let's work collaboratively along with state and federal and let's continue to put seniors first," DeSantis said at the conference.

Pinellas County has 48,998 positive cases, according to the FDOH. Hillsborough has 83,574 cases; Polk has 40,983 cases; Pasco has 23,948 cases; Sarasota has 20,512 cases; Manatee has 24,000 cases; and Dade has 318,115 cases.

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