Florida officers have once more rolled again entry to the state’s COVID-19 knowledge, and can now solely launch key pandemic metrics such because the quantity of people that have been contaminated, died and vaccinated as soon as each two weeks as a substitute of each week.
The state didn’t announce the brand new coverage in any conventional vogue, similar to issuing a press launch or an official assertion by way of its social media accounts.
As an alternative, Florida Division of Well being spokesperson Jeremy Redfern made the announcement at 4:31 p.m. Friday utilizing his private Twitter account. The tweet included a well-liked meme that includes World Wrestling Leisure CEO Vince McMahon reacting to the information.
The Florida Division of Well being then retweeted Redfern’s announcement at 7:49 p.m., including a cat meme and noting that it’s “not season 1 of the pandemic.”
It’s the second time in 9 months that the state has lowered the frequency that it shares the most recent pandemic knowledge with the general public. The state stated it’ll proceed to ship day by day knowledge to the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention, which posts them on-line along side different states.
“Crating a number of reviews is time consuming, and we’re working to shift our focus onto the endemic stage of COVID-19,” Redfern stated in a Monday electronic mail to the Tampa Bay Instances.
Nevertheless, Florida officers have additionally criticized the CDC for repeated errors posting the state’s knowledge. County stage deaths went lacking, instances had been misreported, and the state says testing numbers had been mislabeled. The New York Instances reported final month that the CDC doesn’t report crucial knowledge together with hospitalizations and deaths by race and vaccination standing.
When the state modified its knowledge coverage in June, the announcement was made by Gov. Ron DeSantis’ spokesperson.
Public well being messaging ought to be clear, clear and packaged in a solution to attain as many individuals as attainable stated Joshua Scacco, a professor of political communication on the College of South Florida.
Releasing the information by way of meme on a Friday night, “is the precise reverse of what a well being division ought to do,” he stated.
“Memes on Twitter aren’t supposed to be taken as official statements,” stated Division of Well being spokesperson Weesam Khoury on Monday. The state has not publicly issued an official press launch concerning the change as of three p.m.
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“It’s a curious alternative to not additional clarify (to the general public) how these numbers are going to be reported and why this alteration is being made,” Scacco stated, “particularly in a public well being disaster when folks proceed to die of this virus each day.”
As soon as, consultants praised Florida for its knowledge transparency. The state launched knowledge each day and arrange a web site that allowed the general public, consultants and journalists to simply analyze the trajectory of the pandemic when the virus began spreading in 2020.
Then state officers shut down its on-line COVID-19 database and switched to weekly reviews in June 2021, weeks earlier than the delta variant appeared in Florida. On the time the state additionally shut down its day by day COVID-19 knowledge web site and stopped issuing different reviews, together with on infections in prisons, faculties and long-term care amenities.
The weekly reviews are solely out there as a PDF, making it tough for reporters and researchers to gather and analyze outbreaks and developments of the infectious coronavirus.
Florida has recorded 5.8 million infections and 71,860 deaths in the course of the 2-year pandemic, in keeping with final week’s state report.
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Easy methods to get examined
Tampa Bay: The Instances might help you discover the free, public COVID-19 testing websites in Citrus, Hernando, Hillsborough, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk and Sarasota counties.
Florida: The Division of Well being has a web site that lists testing websites within the state. Some info could also be old-fashioned.
The U.S.: The Division of Well being and Human Providers has a web site that may make it easier to discover a testing website.
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Easy methods to get vaccinated
The COVID-19 vaccine for ages 5 and up and booster pictures for eligible recipients are being administered at docs’ places of work, clinics, pharmacies, grocery shops and public vaccination websites. Many permit appointments to be booked on-line. Right here’s tips on how to discover a website close to you:
Discover a website: Go to vaccines.gov to search out vaccination websites in your ZIP code.
Extra assist: Name the Nationwide COVID-19 Vaccination Help Hotline.
Cellphone: 800-232-0233. Assist is accessible in English, Spanish and different languages.
TTY: 888-720-7489
Incapacity Data and Entry Line: Name 888-677-1199 or electronic mail DIAL@n4a.org.
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OMICRON VARIANT: Omicron modified what we learn about COVID. Right here’s the most recent on how the infectious COVID-19 variant impacts masks, vaccines, boosters and quarantining.
KIDS AND VACCINES: Received questions on vaccinating your child? Listed here are some solutions.
BOOSTER SHOTS: Confused about which COVID booster to get? This information will assist.
BOOSTER QUESTIONS: Are there unwanted side effects? Why do I want it? Right here’s the solutions to your questions.
PROTECTING SENIORS: Right here’s how seniors can keep secure from the virus.
GET THE DAYSTARTER MORNING UPDATE: Signal as much as obtain probably the most up-to-date info.
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