March 29, 2024
COVID-19 deaths, infections continue to fall in Florida

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COVID-19 deaths, infections continue to fall in Florida

| 9/28/2021

COVID-19 deaths, infections continue to fall in Florida

Florida’s fever may have finally broken. New COVID-19 infections continue to fall, dropping to about 8,000 cases per day. And for the first time in 10 weeks, the number of coronavirus deaths has fallen. Infections in Florida fell to 56,325 over the most recent seven-day period of Sept. 17-23. That’s about 8,000 cases per day, according to data released by the state on Friday. It’s the lowest weekly infection rate in the state since early July. The state reported 2,340 new COVID deaths, 128 fewer than the previous week. New case positivity also fell to 8.6 percent. [Source: Tampa Bay Times]

Florida health leaders cite confidential data in COVID-19 public records lawsuit

The Florida Department of Health is trying to scuttle a public-records lawsuit seeking information about COVID-19, arguing that requested reports don’t exist and that the underlying data is confidential. Attorneys for the department filed two motions Friday in Leon County circuit court arguing that a judge should reject the lawsuit, filed last month by the non-profit Florida Center for Government Accountability and state Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith, D-Orlando. Several state and national news organizations have intervened in the case to back the plaintiffs. [Source: News Service of Florida]

Healthcare companies combining to improve health outcomes in Florida and Puerto Rico

A new healthcare acquisition is poised to transform the healthcare experience for people in Florida and Puerto Rico. Last month, GuideWell Mutual Holding Corporation, the parent company of Blue Cross and Blue Shield, announced they are acquiring Triple-S Management, which is a leading healthcare services company in Puerto Rico. “We hope that when we close this, we’ve got the combination that allows us to do a better job for people in Florida and for people in Puerto Rico,” Pat Geraghty, the president and CEO of GuideWell and Florida Blue said. [Source: Click Orlando]

What we know about Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo

Ladapo earned his MD from Harvard Medical School and a PhD in health policy from that university’s Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. Before coming to Florida, he was associate professor at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. Ladapo has been outspoken on COVID-19, mostly by way of downplaying the benefits of mask-wearing, openly condemning business and school lockdowns, and signing on last year to the Great Barrington Declaration. [Source: Sarasota Herald-Tribune]

Doctor fights state after marijuana sting operation

A physician who orders medical marijuana for patients is accusing state health officials of breaking the law to create fake records in a sting operation involving an investigator falsely posing as a military veteran with post-traumatic stress disorder. Joseph Dorn, who has practiced in Florida for nearly three decades, risks losing his medical license after the Department of Health filed a complaint alleging the Tallahassee-based physician violated medical-marijuana laws when ordering cannabis for “Patient O.G. ” and “Patient B.D.,” two undercover investigators with the state agency. [Source: News Service of Florida]

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About 30 Florida healthcare workers made their way to the capitol Friday, some from as far as Pensacola, all in an effort to protect their ability to choose whether they get vaccinated. "There's a lot of discrimination and truly harassment happening inside of hospitals right now for people that are not vaccinated," said healthcare worker Carleigh Harrison.

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