A Brevard County-based official with the Florida Department of Health describes the current trends in COVID-19 cases as “off the scale.”
Helen Medlin, a registered nurse and program manager of epidemiology at the Florida Department of Health in Brevard, cited the latest-available data that shows there were 3,516 new COVID-19 cases reported in Brevard during the week of July 23-29. That’s 575.3 cases per 100,000 residents.
“That’s the highest we’re ever been at any point in time during this pandemic,” Medlin said, when asked Tuesday by Brevard County commissioners for a status report on the the coronavirus pandemic.
Medlin said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention considers 100 cases per 100,000 to be indicative of a “high transmission” level.
“So I don’t know what you would call 575,” Medlin said. “It’s kind of off the scale. We’re not in a great position right now.”
The Brevard rate was higher than the statewide rate of 502.7 per 100,000, and was higher than the figure in all but 18 of Florida’s 66 other counties.
There have been 51,525 COVID-19 cases reported in Brevard County since the pandemic began — equaling roughly one out of every 12 residents of Brevard.
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Furthermore, Medlin said, she believes the actual number of cases is likely two to three times the reported number, because many people have had COVID-19, but had minimal or no symptoms, and were not tested. So their cases do not go into the official count.
“So I can tell you that all of Florida is in a bad position, per se,” Medlin said.
Brevard County Manager Frank Abbate also noted that the number of cases in Brevard is rising faster than in many other parts of the state.
Hospitalizations increasing
Brevard County Emergency Management Director John Scott said the increasing number of COVID-19 cases is resulting in the stretching of resources at local hospitals.
“All three of our hospital systems … are at their highest levels they’ve seen during this event,” Scott said, referring to Health First, Steward and Parrish.
Scott said the hospital systems have been able to adjust to find room for their patients, including accommodating the increasing number of COVID-19 patients.
Health First on Thursday reported that it had a total of 275 COVID-19 patients at its four hospitals — Cape Canaveral Hospital in Cocoa Beach, Holmes Regional Medical Center in Melbourne, Palm Bay Hospital and Viera Hospital. That’s a record for the pandemic, and is up from 243 COVID-19 patients at Health First hospitals on Wednesday.
More than 97% of its COVID-19 patients on Thursday did not get the COVID-19 vaccine, according to Lance Skelly, Health First’s system director for public and media relations.
“Our COVID-positive numbers across all four Health First hospitals continue to climb,” Skelly said. “From a census standpoint, we are not at capacity. But our leaders are continuing to create flexibility and solutions.”
Skelly said that “some of the ways we’ve managed to create additional bed capacity is through the opening of emergency patient treatment tents at our hospitals, allowing us to treat our arriving patients safely and expeditiously, while creating additional capacity options within our hospitals. We’ve also, as of this past Monday, temporarily halted all non-emergeny surgeries within our hospitals, which also provides additional flexibility and space.”
Skelly said hospital staff has worked to identify areas within its hospitals that need assistance — and to pivot to be ready for “what’s next” in the progression of the pandemic.
“In this most critical, unique and challenging of times, seeing how our staff continue to share resources, engage with new ideas and solutions, and fill the gaps where needed is nothing short of inspirational,” Skelly said.
Brevard County Communications Director Don Walker said, while hospitals are able to handle the increasing caseload, “it’s a great concern right now.”
Scott said COVID-19 patient counts are “absolutely at a high point, and what’s important to talk about, too, when we talk about this is it’s not just COVID patients. It does affect the entire hospital system. So folks fall down. Folks get into car accidents. All that kind of stuff still happens.”
And that can translate into longer wait times in the emergency rooms, as well as longer times at the hospitals for Brevard County Fire Rescue ambulance crews, “which takes more and more ambulances out of service,” Scott said.
“There’s also impact at our urgent-care centers,” Scott said, “as those continue to sort of get longer wait times.”
Importance of vaccinations
Scott emphasized that an important approach to flattening the curve of rising case counts is through having more people get the COVID-19 vaccinations.
“We know that more and more folks getting vaccinated is one of the ways we begin to stabilize this,” Scott said.
At last count, 58% of Brevard County’s residents ages 12 and older have received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose — which is below the statewide figure of 61%.
The number of people vaccinated in Brevard County during the week of July 23-29 rose to 6,825 — almost double the 3,470 vaccinated in the previous week, according to the latest-available FDOH data.
COVID-19 case and vaccination data for the week of July 30-Aug. 5 will be released on Friday.
DOH-Brevard is offering $10 food vouchers, while supplies last, for those who get their first COVID-19 vaccination at Health Department clinics in Melbourne, Titusville and Viera. The $10 food vouchers can be used at large grocery chains, including Publix, Winn-Dixie, Albertsons, Food Lion and Save A Lot.
The free vaccinations are offered from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at these FDOH sites:
- Melbourne: 601 E. University Blvd.
- Titusville: 611 N. Singleton Ave.
- Viera: 2565 Judge Fran Jamieson Way
The one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine and the two-dose Moderna and Pfizer vaccines will be available at the Viera site. Only the Pfizer vaccine will be available at the Melbourne and Titusville sites.
The Pfizer vaccine can be administered to people ages 12 and up. The Johnson & Johnson and Moderna vaccines can be administered to those ages 18 and up.
Pharmacies at CVS, Publix, Sam’s Club, Walgreens, Walmart and Winn-Dixie also provide the COVID-19 vaccine at specific locations throughout Brevard County for those eligible. Appointments for those locations can be made on the pharmacy’s website. Designated websites for each location include:
In addition, local hospitals and other health care providers have vaccines available.
Dave Berman is business editor at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Berman at dberman@floridatoday.com. Twitter: @bydaveberman.
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