Epidemiologists say the state’s rates of vaccination has outpaced the national average, but it has not been enough to keep the highly contagious variant at bay because of its outsized population of elderly people and low vaccination rates among younger groups they interact with.
Among those refusing to get vaccinated are around 600 Orange County Fire Rescue workers in the Orlando area who are resisting Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings’ mandate to get vaccinated for COVID-19 or risk losing their jobs. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has threatened to fine local governments like Orange County requiring employees to get vaccinated for COVID-19.
“It certainly is not my desire to terminate any of our employees and we have not to date terminated any of our employees because they refuse to take the vaccine. I hope that we don’t get to that point,” Demings said Friday. “But regardless of what you think about the vaccine, where you land as an individual, there’s still some lawful authority that we have as an employing entity over the employees that we are directly responsible for.”
Meanwhile, one of central Florida’s largest hospital systems transitioned back to normal operations after several weeks of restrictions on elective surgeries and other efforts to conserve resources because of the surge of COVID-19 hospitalizations. AdventHealth’s Central Florida Division said the number of COVID-19 patients at its hospitals now stands at 850 people, several hundred patients fewer than earlier this summer.
“We understand that COVID will be with us and we are going to need to understand how to care for COVID patients while we also care for others that need care in our community,” Dr. Neil Finkler, chief clinical officer for AdventHealth’s Central Florida Division, said Friday.