Florida sees 4,414 new COVID-19 cases as President Biden pushes for more walk-up vaccine sites

ORLANDO, Fla. – President Joe Biden is encouraging states to make vaccines available on a walk-up basis, pushing to get at least one dose to 70% of adults by July 4 in a new goal that he announced Tuesday,

According to the Associated Press, there are more than 56% of American adults who have received at least one dose of a vaccine.

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The president also called on pharmacies to provide vaccines on a walk-up basis. Walmart and Sam’s Club announced their 5,100 respective pharmacies nationwide will offer walk-up vaccinations.

“Now that supply and eligibility have expanded, it’s even more important for us to reach underserved and vulnerable populations to ensure equitable distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine,” Dr. Cheryl Pegus, executive vice president for health and wellness at Walmart, said in a news release.

There are 383 pharmacy locations in Florida, including Sam’s Club, where they will not require a membership to be vaccinated.

And more Americans could be eligible for the vaccine as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration considers expanding Pfizer’s eligibility for children from the ages of 12 to 15.

Pfizer is already available to those 16 years old and up. The FDA is expected to authorize the vaccine’s expansion early next week or sooner, with the agency looking ahead to approve use for even those even younger during the fall.

Several Central Florida school districts responded to this announcement, many of which saying it would not be offering on-campus vaccinations at this time.

Overall, there has been a lower demand for vaccines and many areas are seeing low turnout. In Central Florida, four vaccination sites opened Tuesday with 1,000 shots available. By the afternoon, the sites combined administered just over 120 doses. The sites were set up in areas seeing lower vaccination numbers.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

[READ YESTERDAY’S REPORT: FDA mulls expanding Pfizer eligibility as Florida reports 3,692 new COVID-19 cases ]

Find the state-run COVID-19 dashboard below:

Below is a breakdown of Florida COVID-19 data reported by the state on May 5.

Cases

The Florida Department of Health reported 4,414 new cases on Wednesday, bringing the state’s overall total to 2,253,929 cases since the virus was first detected on March 1, 2020.

Deaths

Florida reported 82 new virus-related deaths Wednesday, bringing the death toll to 36,184. This number included the 706 non-residents who died in Florida.

Hospitalizations

As of Wednesday afternoon, there were currently 3,009 people with the virus hospitalized in Florida, according to the state Agency for Health Care Administration.

Since last March 2020, 91,425 people have been hospitalized in Florida after complications from COVID-19. That number includes the 256 new patients who have been recently hospitalized due to the virus, according to the health department’s daily report released on Wednesday.

Positivity rate

The percent of positive results was 5.16% Tuesday out of 85,595 tests. The numbers reported daily by the state reflect test results from the day prior. Health officials say the rate should remain between 5% and 10% to prove a community has a hold of the virus and is curbing infections.

Vaccinations

The Florida Department of Health began releasing a daily report in December 2020 on COVID-19 vaccines administered throughout the state.

FDOH reports 6,533,066 people are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. These individuals either received the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine or completed a two-shot series.

As of Wednesday, 9,037,042 people have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine.

Below is the Central Florida region breakdown of new cases, deaths and hospitalizations for Wednesday.

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