Health Dept.: Best way to combat the virus is widely-available vaccination; community groups can sign up to hold a shot event
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In April 2020, local coronavirus testing at Osceola Heritage Park was a drive-up operation. Starting next week, the new site will be walk-up, by appointment. FILE PHOTO
The upswing in COVID-19 cases, thanks to the highly-contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus, has caused much of the response to it to look like 2020 again.
Here’s a local example: Osceola County will re-launch its COVID-19 testing site at Osceola Heritage Park starting next Friday, Aug. 13.
The walk-up appointment-only site will be open seven days a week and will offer free rapid testing daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The County will provide a website and registration link next week to make appointments.
In last week’s reporting data — it now comes out weekly on Friday mid-afternoons — 2,160 new COVID-19 cases were reported in Osceola County, or roughly 308 per day. The positivity rate was 19.3 percent, far over the 5 percent barrier the CDC uses to say the virus is "in check" in a community.
While wide-range testing is a way for residents to battle the virus — the Osceola County Health Department continues to schedule testing on Mondays at its office — the No. 1 way to wage war on it its to get vaccinated.
And you can do that today. Like, right now.
“It’s the most effective, easiest and surest way to combat this,” Health Department spokesperson Jeremy Lanier said. “That’s the message we’re giving to the 35 percent of those in Osceola County who are eligible and still unvaccinated; the far majority of those hospitalized with COVID-19 related illnesses are unvaccinated.”
The Health Department is scheduling its own vaccinations on Tuesdays through Thursdays, and shots are also widely available at chain stores with pharmacies (i.e., CVS, Walmart, Target, Walgreens), and civic groups can schedule vaccination events.
“The numbers of those reaching out for information and appointments has increased the past couple weeks,” Lanier said.
The Health Department will have an on-site crew at Saturday’s Downtown Kissimmee Back to School event from 5-7 p.m. provide information on COVID-19 vaccination, and the other immunizations children are required to have for public school; Lanier said the department is finalizing having all those shots available Saturday. He did confirm vaccinations will be available at a Back to School event at Solid Rock Church (1904 Michigan Ave., Kissimmee) Aug. 14 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Organizations interested in hosting a vaccination event should send an email request to Osceola.health@flhealth.gov with “Vaccination Event Request” in the subject line. Include the name of the organization, point of contact, telephone number, preferred date and time of the vaccination event and the estimated number of people to be vaccinated.
Comprehensive information on local testing options and vaccination locations is available at www.Osceola.org/covid19testing and www.Osceola.org/covid19vaccinations.
“These are trusted sources of information,” Lanier said.
Local governments have responded to the rise in cases.
Osceola County, the City of Kissimmee and the City of St. Cloud are requiring all employees to wear masks or face-coverings in their buildings. The county mandates visitors must comply as well; visitors to St. Cloud City Hall, which continues to operate at normal hours, are not mandated to do so. All St. Cloud departments have transitioned to hosting and attending internal meetings virtually except when a face-to-face meeting is deemed critical.
As of this writing, the Osceola County School District has not changed its policy for the 2021-22 school year, which makes masks optional rather than required. The School Board meets Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.; there are no items on the meeting agenda related to students or staff wearing face masks.
