As I reported on Saturday, the COVID pandemic is surging in the wrong direction. Yesterday Pensacola Mayor Grover Robinson had a conference call with the local hospital leadership. He reported what he learned on Facebook that the hospitalization are at 107 – nearly twice what they were Monday, July 19.
“We all agreed that we probably need to get back to getting the hospitalization information that we were receiving prior to the end of June,” said the mayor. “Starting tomorrow, we will be reporting it out both for Escambia County and the City of Pensacola. We will come back with our dashboard and have that there.”
Robinson said the 107 hospitalizations hasn’t put the local hospitals at a critical level yet – “obviously the concern is we went from a long period of time where we were under 50 to now 107.”
“All three hospitals confirmed, for the most part, they’re seeing nearly 90% of the people that are in the hospital are unvaccinated,” said the mayor. “It’s not saying that you can’t either get COVID or have even significant impacts if you had a vaccine, but the impacts of this are much more significant if you have not been vaccinated.”
According to the mayor, the median age of testing positive is 47 – “so it is younger people who are getting it now.”
While the numbers of this getting the vaccine have been stagnant for the past two months., the
Florida Department of health indicated it has seen an increase in the number of people wanting to get vaccines over the past two weeks.
As far as mask, Robinson said it was discussed but no mandate is expected in the near future.
“It’s highly encouraged, especially if you have not been vaccinated wearing a mask, but this particular time, I think most people agree, mask or no mask, the real issue is not that it’s real,” said the mayor. Â “We need to be focusing on those vaccines and getting people vaccinated.”
He added, “The one thing that comes through pretty loud and clear on the numbers is that it’s unvaccinated people that are, that are going to the hospital and the impacts are much more severe.”
Escambia County has this information on its website about vaccinations:
Florida Department of Health in Escambia County
- FDOH-Escambia is updating walk-in hours for their COVID-19 vaccine clinic located at 1295 West Fairfield Drive in Pensacola effective Thursday, July 22, 2021.
- Walk-ins are welcome Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Same-day appointments can be made by calling 850-595-6554. Questions can be directed to FDOH-Escambia’s COVID-19 phone line at 850-595-6500 option 6.
Gulf Coast Veterans Health Care System
• The Gulf Coast Veterans Health Care System’s Joint Ambulatory Care Center in Pensacola and the Biloxi Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Mississippi offers COVID-19 vaccinations by appointment only from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. based on availability.
The Federal Retail Pharmacy Program
CVS
- Register in advance at CVS.com or through the CVS Pharmacy app. People without online access can contact CVS customer service at (800) 746-7287. Walk-in vaccinations without an appointment will not be provided.
Publix
- Monitor Publix’s online portal here.
Walmart and Sam’s Club
- Walmart and Sam’s Club pharmacies accept and administer federal allocations of the COVID-19 vaccine. Once a store or club receives allocation, the online scheduler will be available to make appointments at walmart.com/COVIDvaccine and samsclub.com/covid.
Winn-Dixie - Monitor the Winn-Dixie online portal here.
State of Florida
- Sign up for text message updates about the vaccine and distribution by texting “FLCOVID19†to 888777. After you submit the text message, it will ask you to supply your zip code for local-level updates.
- Florida’s COVID-19 Vaccine Report This report includes a breakdown of who has received the vaccine by age, race, sex and county.
- Information about the statewide vaccine distribution plan can be found at floridahealthcovid19.gov/covid-19-vaccines-in-florida.
- Citizen’s call line for vaccine concerns (Governor’s Office): (850) 717-9337
- The Florida Health Department has a COVID-19 vaccine locator site at http://ow.ly/k0FX50De10y
Walgreens
- Eligible individuals can schedule COVID-19 vaccine appointments at Walgreens. Walgreens is offering the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at select locations. Florida residents 16 and up can receive the Pfizer vaccine. Vaccine appointments can be scheduled at the following Walgreens locations:
- 4497 Mobile Highway
- 20 W Nine Mile Road
- 6314 N 9th Ave
- 870 E Cervantes St
- 700 N Pace Blvd.
- 1841 E Olive Road
- 5995 Mobile Highway
- 2237 W Nine Mile Road
- 85 Beverly Pkway
How to schedule a vaccination appointment at Walgreens:
- Option 1: To schedule a vaccine at Walgreens.com:
- Visit www.walgreens.com/schedulevaccine.
- Click “Schedule new appointment.”
- Check to see if appointments are available in your area.
- Log-in or create a Walgreens pharmacy account.
- Attest to meeting the state/local eligibility requirements and answer screening questions to determine if you are eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine.
- If eligible, select the date and time for both the first and second dose. Your appointment confirmation will be sent via email.
- Option 2: To schedule a vaccine over the phone:
- Call your local Walgreens pharmacy or 1-800-WALGREENS (1-800-925-4733)
- Choose option 1 for COVID-19 vaccine appointment information. We can help you in English and Spanish
- Follow the steps to schedule your appointment(s) for your first and second doses (if applicable)
- Option 3: To schedule inside a Walgreens store
- Visit any local Walgreens store with a pharmacy.
- Ask any pharmacy team member for assistance in scheduling a COVID-19 vaccine appointment.