Health official: 'Everybody needs to get vaccinated"

Okeechobee County lifts mandate that masks be worn in county buildings

Posted 5/13/21

Okeechobee County lifts mask mandate.

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Health official: 'Everybody needs to get vaccinated"

Okeechobee County lifts mandate that masks be worn in county buildings

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OKEECHOBEE – “Get vaccinated. Everybody needs to get vaccinated. Call me. I’ll set you up,” Bret Smith of the Florida Department in Health in Okeechobee County said at the May 13 meeting.

He said the number of COVID-19 cases in Okeechobee County has risen slightly in the past two weeks with 12 new cases in the past few days. The percent positive has risen to 7.6%. Deaths in the county rose by one. Okeechobee County had two new covid-related hospitalizations in the past two weeks.

He said the health department is really working hard to get the vaccine into the population. “They’re not beating down the doors to get the vaccine,” Smith continued.  “We’re taking the show on the road to reach out to them."

Children over the age of 12 now qualify for the Pfizer vaccine, he said.

Smith said Okeechobee County does not currently have the facilities to store the Pfizer vaccine, which requires ultra cold freezers, at minus 70 degrees.

He said the vaccine comes packed in dry ice. “We can recharge the dry ice two times,” he explained.

Smith said they have access to funding to purchase a low temperature freezer. Commissioner Kelly Owens said it’s a good idea to have one because they might need it for booster shots as well.

Commission Chair Terry Burroughs said they considered the liquid nitrogen freezers used for agricultural purposes but found those were too cold. (Freezers used to store bull semen are more than 100 degrees below zero.)

Mitch Smeykal of the Emergency Operations Center said the state has enough doses of the Pfizer vaccine to get shots to all of the counties. He said Moderna is not far behind getting their authorization for 12 to 16-year-olds.

County lifts mask requirement in county buildings

In a related issue, Okeechobee County Commissioners voted unanimously to end the mandate for wearing masks in county buildings. Masks will now be optional in county buildings.

Commissioner Brad Goodbread noted county staff are protected from the public by Plexiglas shields.

Smith said the CDC still recommends masks be worn by those who have not yet been vaccinated. Some mask recommendations have been relaxed for those who have been vaccinated.

He said the State of Florida does not have a mask mandate.

Smith said the school board, which made mask use optional in the county’s public schools on Thursday, contacted him about graduation. He said they will recommend but not require those attending graduation to wear masks.

Vaccine available

COVID-19 vaccines are now widely available in Florida. To find vaccine near you, go online to the Florida vaccine locator.

vaccine, locator, COVID-19, Okeechobee, masks

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