In a new public health advisory, Florida’s surgeon general has ordered state and federal vaccine locations to stop asking people for proof of residency to get a COVID-19 vaccine.

Florida’s surgeon general on Thursday issued a new advisory, saying that people fully-vaccinated for COVID-19 should no longer be advised to wear face coverings or avoid social gatherings except in limited circumstances.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The Florida Department of Health on Wednesday requested an audit after more than 1,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses were spoiled in Palm Beach County. The department called on the Health Care District of Palm Beach County to complete the audit by Feb. 12. The request came after the district said last week about 1,160 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine spoiled after a refrigeration storage unit was unintentionally turned off. RELATED: Less than 1% of vaccine doses wasted, Florida health department saysAttempts to contact the district Wednesday for comment were not immediately successful. “In Florida, we have been diligent to preserve and utilize every single dose of the vaccine.

During a statewide phone call, Department of Health Secretary Scott Rivkees told hospitals they cannot use “second dose” vaccine supplies to give initial vaccinations to more people. But hospital executives pressed Rivkees about the state’s limited supply of “first dose” vaccines and how they can get a share of them. State officials contend that 907,000 doses are being held in reserve, targeted for “second doses.” Both vaccines require two doses to be effective. Doing so, McKinstry said, could result in a shortfall of second doses. “There is not a second dose allocation if a second dose is inappropriately used as a first dose,” she said.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The Sunshine State is cracking down on vaccine tourism. “Vaccine tourism” is when people from outside of a state or country travel to a location solely to take advantage of its available vaccines. Despite originally downplaying reports of vaccine tourism, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is know backing a new directive preventing the trend from continuing. Pointing to limited amounts of COVID-19 vaccine, Florida Surgeon General Scott Rivkees issued an advisory Thursday aimed at limiting vaccinations to residents and health-care workers. Under Rivkees’ advisory, providers would have to check to make sure intended vaccine recipients are Florida residents or people in Florida to provide health-care services that involve direct contact with patients.

“We’re using every resource available at our disposal to get individuals vaccinated as quickly and as safely as possible based upon the available vaccine supply,” Rivkees said. The surgeon general said the state has little choice but to wait for the federal government — and vaccine manufacturers — to increase vaccine allotments being sent to the states. President Joe Biden, who was sworn in Wednesday, has promised to push out the vaccine to states more quickly and efficiently. Last week, federal health officials had discussed revamping the distribution model to favor state's with higher concentrations of older residents. “If that happens, then certainly we would anticipate additional vaccine,” Rivkees said.

(AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Sri Lanka is welcoming tourists again after keeping the doors closed to visitors for nearly 10 months due to the coronavirus pandemic. Ontario's leader asks Biden for 1 million vaccine shots due to Pfizer shortfall for Canada. ___BEIJING — China is imposing some of its toughest travel restrictions yet as coronavirus cases surge in several northern provinces ahead of the Lunar New Year. ___MEXICO CITY — Mexico has had a second consecutive day of COVID-19 deaths surpassing 1,500. The state’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout prioritizes health care workers and nursing homes in its first phase, which is almost complete.

Florida has the second-highest number of people age 65 and older, and the change in policy would benefit the state. “If that happens, we certainly will keep everyone apprised as more vaccine becomes available in the state,” Rivkees said. The federal government had distributed 31,161,075 vaccine doses nationwide and 2,069,175 in Florida as of Friday, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention vaccine tracker. As of Tuesday, 220 Publix supermarkets in 17 counties had been provided vaccines, DeSantis said. “All we need is more vaccine -- just get us more vaccine,” DeSantis added.

Ron DeSantis said stories of the rich flying to Florida, getting vaccinated and returning home are overblown. He said a registration system could help alleviate the strain counties are now under as they deliver vaccinations. Since then, the governor has sought to widen the number of vaccination sites. Although some snowbirds who own homes in Florida say they have gotten vaccines while here in the Sunshine State. At some vaccination sites, seniors have had to be turned away because vaccine allotments had dried up.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – A leading Senate Republican on Wednesday chided Florida Surgeon General Scott Rivkees about the state’s COVID-19 vaccine-distribution efforts, saying Gov. According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 29.38 million doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines have been distributed nationwide. A separate state health department report showed the state had administered 707,428 doses as of Tuesday and that 61,158 people had received the required two doses. Florida on Tuesday topped 1.5 million reported cases of COVID-19 since the pandemic started early last year, and at least 23,396 Florida residents have died. “A million doses a month, 22 million people, that’s a maximum of 22 months.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – It could take more than a year to vaccinate all Floridians based on the number of vaccine doses the state is currently receiving on a weekly basis. The timetable came to light as the Florida Surgeon General fielded tough questions from state senators. Testifying before the Senate Health Policy Committee, State Surgeon General Dr. Scott Rivkees said the COVID-19 vaccine supply isn’t meeting the demand. At that rate, it would take more than a year to vaccinate the general population, but Rivkees provided some hope for optimism. The state has received 1.6 million vaccine doses to date.

Fifty-seven percent of the people who had been vaccinated were 65 or older, a figure that DeSantis touts. Initially, only front-line health care workers and long-term care residents and staff were authorized to receive the coveted vaccines. Meanwhile, not all the concerns hospitals expressed on Tuesday’s call with state health officials stemmed from the Trump administration’s reversal in policy. An acronym for “state health online tracking system,” SHOTS is a centralized information system that keeps track of immunization records. Additionally, the state has passed emergency rules that require providers to report in the SHOTS system all vaccinations administered.

A microscopic image of the Hepatitis A virus, taken by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Florida had a reported 1,009 hepatitis A cases in 2020, a major decrease from 2019, but significantly more than in most years, according to information posted on the state Department of Health website. Florida totaled 3,405 hepatitis A cases in 2019, when Surgeon General Scott Rivkees declared a public health emergency. Florida had 123 cases in 2015, 122 cases in 2016, 276 cases in 2017 and 548 cases in 2018, according to the Department of Health. Hepatitis A can cause liver damage and is spread through such things as fecal matter, sexual contact and intravenous drug use.

Broward Health Medical Center began vaccinating frontline healthcare workers last week with the Pfizer-BioNtech COVID-19 vaccine and are continuing to inoculate frontline caregivers with both of the vaccines after the arrival of the Moderna. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)A pair of legislative committees set up to review Florida’s response to the coronavirus pandemic will hold their first meetings next week. State Surgeon General Scott Rivkees is scheduled to address the Senate Select Committee on Pandemic Preparedness and Response on Jan. 14. The Florida Department of Health has logged 1.39 million cases in the state since the pandemic started in March. State officials also have reported that 289,773 people in Florida had been vaccinated with either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine as of Tuesday.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – While medical workers and those with a high risk of exposure to COVID-19 made up the brunt of the first phase of the vaccination rollout in Florida, health care staff who are not connected to a major hospital say they’ve been passed over. In letters sent this month to Florida Gov. READ: Letter to Florida governor | Letter to state surgeon generalDr. Charles Booras is semi-retired after working as a physician at Baptist Health for more than 35 years. “We’re certainly an integral part of the health care system,” Booras said. “So, if I end up in a hospital with more serious problems, I’m taking up space for somebody else who might be sicker than myself,” Booras said.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida’s top public health official said Tuesday that five Florida hospitals -- including UF Health Jacksonville -- could receive COVID-19 vaccinations as early as next week. RELATED: Jacksonville hospital among 5 in Florida to get COVID-19 vaccine firstReferred to as the “Pfizer 5,” Broward Memorial, UF Health Jacksonville, Tampa General Hospital, Advent Health in Orlando, and Jackson Memorial in Miami will be the first Florida hospitals to receive the vaccine. Four of the five facilities are members of the Safety Net Hospital Alliance of Florida, a statewide hospital association. And it will be both the second wave of the Pfizer vaccine as well as potentially the Moderna vaccine,” Senior said. Rivkees was joined on Tuesday morning’s phone call by Agency for Health Care Administration Deputy Secretary Molly McKinstry.

Although we still don’t know when a COVID-19 vaccine will be made available to the general public, the Florida Department of Health is already making plans to administer those injections to residents across the state. The Florida Department of Health currently plans to administer the COVID-19 vaccine in three phases. (Florida Department of Health)The doctors and state health officials who are developing the distribution plans are meeting biweekly. Since hospitals have the most storage, they’ll likely be among some of the first health care facilities to receive doses of the vaccine. You can read the draft of Florida’s COVID-19 vaccination plan in its entirety here.

Also, another 11 deaths were more than 30 days old when they were reported to the state, according to the health department. “During a pandemic, the public must be able to rely on accurate public health data to make informed decisions. There were three deaths reported Wednesday in Northeast Florida — one in Clay County and two in Putnam County. The inclusion of those deaths increased Florida’s COVID-19 death count by 10 percent, according to the House analysis. “Any ‘current’ count of COVID-19 deaths is more accurately described as the number of people with COVID-19 who died, rather than those who died from COVID-19,” the analysis said.

The governor said he is also committed to making sure parents know which schools have outbreaks. Last week the state briefly published a report showing 900 K-12 teachers and students had tested positive for COVID-19. At a roundtable designed to assure parents that sending kids back to the class was safe, Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran called the numbers: Its a diminimus amount. Or move quicker than they were to get back to brick and mortar schools said the working mother. It showed 6,167 kids 17 and under had tested positive for the coronavirus since schools began opening Aug. 10.

Ron DeSantis on Monday said he wants to differentiate between asymptomatic and symptomatic COVID-19 students when the state finally releases a breakdown of the virus in schools. DeSantis, along with state health and education officials, addressed the states public disclosure of coronavirus data in Florida schools during a morning education roundtable event in Tallahassee. You have 10 positive tests at a middle school in Martin County, DeSanits said, laying out a hypothetical situation. How many of those positive tests, actually, how many of those people were ill? Rivkees and DeSantis both added that an age breakdown of positive tests is included in the daily coronavirus report published by the state.

Ron DeSantis on Thursday pushed back against a report compiled by his administration that detailed coronavirus cases linked to schools, saying it was not necessarily accurate and that it remains under review. Department of Health Secretary Scott Rivkees, a DeSantis appointee who also serves as state surgeon general, requested the report, according to the governor. RELATED: Accidental release of school-related COVID-19 data leads to confusionDeSantis, who has pushed schools to reopen amid the coronavirus pandemic, complained that the school-related data was misrepresented to the public. It was acting like this was something that was triggered by the school year, which is totally not true, DeSantis told reporters Thursday at a press conference in Tampa. DeSantis also complained Thursday about media headlines that focused on the number of coronavirus cases on campuses, rather than schools COVID-19 positivity rates or numbers of asymptomatic cases.

Ron DeSantiss administration on Friday discussed a limited reopening of nursing homes and other long-term care facilities that would not require COVID-19 screening for visitors. Under the proposal floated Friday, people visiting the long-term care facilities would have to wear personal protective equipment, such as face masks. DeSantis stopped visitation at nursing homes and other long-term care facilities in March, as the coronavirus pandemic began to sweep the state. The long-term care facilities include nursing homes, assisted-living facilities and intermediate-care facilities for the developmentally disabled. The DeSantis administration contracts with Curative to provide COVID-19 testing to long-term care staff at nursing homes and assisted-living facilities.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. Florida, which has endured a surge of coronavirus infections this summer, will participate in a COVID-19 vaccine pilot program with the federal government. Rivkees said details for the pilot program will be coming as vaccines become available, but he did not explain further. The Florida Department of Health did not immediately respond to requests by The News Service of Florida for additional information. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also did not immediately reply to requests for information about the pilot program. Minnesota, meanwhile, announced it was participating in the vaccine pilot in a media call this month.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A Jacksonville woman’s creative workaround for the pandemic visitor ban at her husband’s assisted living facility landed her on the governor’s radar – and helped inspire the creation of a statewide task force to address the issue of isolation in long-term care facilities. Ron DeSantis, who has since appointed Daniel as a member of a newly announced state Task Force on the Safe and Limited Re-Opening of Long-Term Care Facilities. RELATED: Long-term care facilities weighing how to safely allow visitors“If you look nationwide, about 50% of the corona related fatalities have been in that tiny population of long-term care residents,” DeSantis said in a one-on-one interview with News4Jax (watch the full interview below). But the task force will be exploring options to allow limited visitation at long-term care facilities. He said he looks forward to other ideas from the task force.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. Nearly 70 percent of the states nursing homes will receive rapid test kits from the federal government in the coming weeks after being identified by regulators as having increased risks for COVID-19 infections. And of the 693 nursing homes in the state, 471 are included on the test-kit distribution list. The Agency for Health Care Administration referred questions about the numbers to the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Of the nursing homes that responded, just four said the test kits had arrived. Florida has required nursing homes, and assisted living facilities, to test their staff members twice a month.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. Staff members at nursing facilities across the state that have agreed to care for long-term care residents with COVID-19 are beginning to test positive for the virus. Ron DeSantis has touted using the 19 facilities as a way to help prevent the spread of the virus in other nursing homes. As of Monday, 108 staff members at the facilities had tested positive. The 19 facilities have agreed to offer, in the aggregate, as many as 1,296 beds. The Cleveland Clinic hospital representative asked officials from the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration and the Florida Department of Health whether nursing facility staff members who have COVID-19 but are asymptomatic could care for COVID-19 patients.

The bill prohibits practitioners and medical students from performing pelvic examinations on patients without written consent from the patients or the patients guardians. During pelvic exams, Scott said, the vulva, vagina, cervix, ovaries, uterus, rectum and pelvis are examined for any abnormalities. It includes in pelvic examinations external pelvic tissue or organs. The Florida Nurses Association --- a group that often is at odds with physician associations --- also filed a similar petition for a declaratory statement with the Florida Board of Nursing. I dont want anybody doing anything without consent.She also supports the consent requirement applying to male patients.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. Florida had 74 hepatitis A cases in June and has hit 680 cases this year, according to data posted on the Florida Department of Health website. The numbers, updated as of Saturday, show a gradual monthly decline in cases this year and a large reduction from last year, when the state totaled 3,411 cases and Surgeon General Scott Rivkees declared a public health emergency. In issuing the public health emergency last August, Rivkees urged residents to get vaccinated and to wash their hands. As of June 13, the latest county-by-county data posted online, Duval County led the state with 164 cases this year. It was followed by Volusia County with 59 cases and Brevard County with 47 cases.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. Florida has more intensive-care unit capability than a state website indicates, a top health-care regulator said Tuesday, as the DeSantis administration defended a decision to change how hospitals report available ICU beds to the state. What we are not seeing captured is the ability (for hospitals) to convert beds to ICU to have a level of ICU surge capacity if needed, Mayhew said. She said the state is closely tracking hospital admissions as the number of people with COVID-19 spikes. If hospitals are using ICU beds for patients who arent in critical care, it could at least partly be because of state decisions. According to state data, 2,640 residents have been transferred, which means the majority of them have been transferred to hospitals.

The Florida university systems Board of Governors on Tuesday approved individual reopening plans put together by each of the states 12 state universities. At Florida Gulf Coast University, optional testing will be provided to all students and employees prior to their return to campus. For example, Florida A&M plans to install temperature kiosks at busy campus locations, such as libraries. University of North Florida President David Szymanski said university students will be asked to conduct their own temperature checks and self-report their well-being to school officials prior to entering classrooms or buildings. Lydecker asked Szymanski if the Jacksonville university would consider prohibiting students from attending the convention, to prevent a COVID-19 outbreak on campus.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. Florida had 56 cases of hepatitis A during the first three weeks of June, bringing its total to 661 this year, according to new data posted on the state Department of Health website. The pace of cases is slower than in 2019, when a major outbreak led to 3,411 reported hepatitis A cases. The state, for example, had 123 cases in 2015; 122 cases in 2016; 276 cases in 2017; and 548 cases in 2018, Department of Health numbers show. Hepatitis A, which causes liver damage, is spread through such things as fecal matter, sexual contact and intravenous drug use. Duval County led the state with 156 cases as of a June 13 count, while Volusia County had 58 cases and Brevard County had 47 cases, according to the Department of Health.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida’s nationally celebrated COVID-19 dashboard suggests reopening is going as good as one can expect. But the firing of the architect and manager of the state’s dashboard raises questions about the reliability of state health department data. An email sent by Dr. Rebekah Jones, who built and managed Florida’s COVID-19 dashboard, to researchers and her former team makes a troubling claim. Marsh noted that to reopen the state, officials need to show that not only is the state flattening the curve but also that the number of infections is trending downward. “Allegations that Florida’s government may have tried to manipulate or alter data to make reopening (the economy) appear safer is outrageous," Rizzo said.

Surgeon General Scott Rivkees encouraged physicians and hospitals to make sure they report any suspected cases of what is known as a multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children to health department officials. We are beginning to see cases nationally and a few cases in Florida of this inflammatory disorder that is infecting children, Rivikees said Monday in a statewide call with hospital representatives. But Holtz Childrens Hospital, which is part of Miamis Jackson Health System, has two confirmed cases. As of May 12, the number of patients identified by New York health officials had increased to 102. New York State and New York City continue to receive additional reports of suspected cases, the CDC noted in the advisory Thursday.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. Florida needs more hospital-level testing for COVID-19, including more pediatric testing capability as the state continues to reopen, Surgeon General Scott Rivkees told hospital officials Monday. It also is necessary, given the states mandate that hospitals test long-term care residents before returning them to nursing facilities. During a weekly call with hospitals, Rivkees also made a pitch that they have plans for pediatric COVID-19 testing capability. This will become especially important as children start potentially going back to school and other types of activities, Rivkees said. We need to make sure that we have as much testing available for pediatric patients as we have for adult patients.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – While the state grapples with the novel coronavirus, it also continues to see increasing cases of hepatitis A.Florida reported 30 new cases of hepatitis A last week, bringing this year’s total to 356 as of Saturday, according to the state Department of Health website. Florida had a large outbreak of hepatitis A in 2019, when 3,396 cases were reported. By comparison, the state had 548 cases in 2018 and 276 cases in 2017. In 2020, Duval County has had the most reported hepatitis A cases, with 79 as of Saturday, according to the Department of Health data. Duval County was followed by Volusia County, with 32 cases; Brevard County, with 23 cases; Clay County, with 18 cases; and Polk County, with 17 cases.

RELATED | Tracking coronavirus: Johns Hopkins maps outbreakThe U.S. Navy sent a reminder to service members and their families who have recently traveled to China to pay attention to possible respiratory symptoms. Florida Surgeon General Scott Rivkees said health officials in the state have formed an Incident Management Team to monitor and respond to coronavirus cases. “We don’t see a threat now, but you have to be prepared because you watch what’s happening. Rivkees and the Florida Department of Health hope to establish the state’s own lab for testing. Rivkees is expected to brief a state legislative committee on the virus next week.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida has topped 280 reported cases of hepatitis A this year, with the largest numbers in Duval and Volusia counties. As of Saturday, 281 cases had been reported statewide, with 60 in Duval County and 25 in Volusia County, according to state Department of Health numbers. Other counties with double-digit numbers of cases were Brevard, with 17; Polk, with 16; Charlotte, with 13; and Citrus and Clay, with 12 each. Florida was hit with a major outbreak of hepatitis A in 2019, with 3,396 cases reported statewide. Hepatitis A, which causes liver damage, is spread through such things as fecal matter, sexual contact and intravenous drug use.

A microscopic image of the Hepatitis A virus, taken by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Florida had 62 hepatitis A cases reported last week, bringing the total number of cases this year to 2,970, as of Saturday. Citrus County had 11 newly reported cases last week, and the county has had 95 cases this year. Volusia County had the second-highest number of newly reported cases last week with seven. Hepatitis A, which can cause liver damage, can be spread through sexual contact and through fecal matter.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Florida had 78 reported vaping-related illnesses as of Oct. 26, according to the state Department of Health. The latest data showed an increase of eight cases in the last week, according to a News Service of Florida analysis. The number of deaths associated with the lung illnesses remained at one. The federal government announced Monday that THC products are playing an important role in the multistate outbreak of vaping-related illnesses and recommended that people not use vaping devices that contain THC, the compound in marijuana that causes a euphoric feeling. Recreational marijuana is not legal in Florida, but medical marijuana is.

A microscopic image of the Hepatitis A virus, taken by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Florida had 56 new hepatitis A cases reported last week, bringing the total number of cases this year to 2,904 as of Oct. 26, according to the state Department of Health. Brevard and Volusia led the state in the number of newly reported cases last week, with 11 each, a News Service of Florida analysis of the data shows. That brought the number of hepatitis A cases in Volusia County to 262 and Brevard County to 131. Citrus and Lake counties also each reported eight new cases of hepatitis A last week, bringing the total number of cases in Lake County to 147 and the total number of cases in Citrus County to 84.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Amid an outbreak of vaping-related illnesses across the country, state Surgeon General Scott Rivkees on Wednesday said Floridians should not use illicit THC products and urged patients who vape legal medical marijuana to talk with their physicians. Florida patients can take medical marijuana in a number of ways, including inhaling through vaping devices, smoking the drug or taking it orally, rectally or under the tongue. A 2019 report on medical marijuana use showed that the oral route was the most popular, followed by inhalation. But the CDC has released information on 849 patients who provided details about the products they were vaping when they got sick. Seventy-eight percent of those patients reported using products that contained THC, and 31 percent reported exclusively vaping THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, the euphoria-causing chemical in marijuana.

Florida Surgeon General Scott Rivkees said Tuesday the state has had 68 cases of vaping-related illnesses in 21 counties and one confirmed death. State Sen. Darryl Rouson, D-St. Petersburg, pressed Rivkees on whether Florida should try to stop the outbreak through a moratorium on the sale of vaping products. Charlie Baker declared a public-health emergency in September and banned the sale of vaping products for four months, a move that has been challenged in court. Rivkees released the details on vaping-related illnesses on the heels of a report that showed increases in the numbers of Florida children who vape. By comparison, 25.6 percent of high school students in 2019 reported having used vaping products, compared to 24.8 percent the previous year.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Florida had 55 new hepatitis A cases reported last week, bringing the total number of cases this year to 2,847 as of Saturday, according to Department of Health data. That brought the number of hepatitis A cases in Volusia County to 259 and Brevard County to 128, respectively. Other counties with the highest number of newly reported cases last week included Lake County, with six cases, and Sarasota County, with five. That brought the number of cases this year in Lake County to 145 and Sarasota County to 80. Nine counties had not reported any cases of hepatitis A this year: Baker, Bradford, Calhoun, Gadsden, Gulf, Highlands, Holmes, Jefferson and Lafayette.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Florida had 53 newly reported hepatitis A cases last week, bringing the total number of cases this year to 2,791 as of Saturday, numbers from the state Department of Health show. Pasco County, which leads the state in hepatitis A cases, had just one new case reported last week, bringing its total to 398. Nearby Pinellas County, which has had 369 cases this year, did not report any additional cases last week. Florida Surgeon General Scott Rivkees issued a Public Health Emergency in August to address the massive increase in hepatitis A cases in Florida over the past year. Rivkees' goal is to vaccinate 80 percent of the at-risk populations, or about 392,000 people.

Joe Raedle/Getty ImagesTALLAHASSEE, Fla. - More than $490,000 is being doled out to seven Florida counties as part of a national effort to try to eradicate HIV and AIDS in the next 10 years. The new grant funding announcement was made on National Latino HIV/AIDS Awareness Day Event. Phase one includes funding for the 48 counties and seven rural states with the highest HIV incidence. The seven Florida counties are Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Orange, Duval, Hillsborough and Pinellas. Rick Scott's administration returned $54 million in federal grant funding meant to combat the spread of HIV in the state.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Florida had 62 newly reported cases of hepatitis A last week, bringing the total number of cases for the year to 2,738 as of Saturday, a state Department of Health report shows. Pasco, Pinellas and Volusia counties continued to lead the state with 397, 369 and 244 cases, respectively. A News Service of Florida analysis shows that Lake, Sarasota and Hillsborough counties had more newly reported cases of hepatitis A last week than any other areas. There were seven newly reported cases in Lake County, six in Sarasota County and four in Hillsborough County. Last week, the county health departments provided 48 percent of the first-dose vaccinations that were administered.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Florida had 65 newly reported hepatitis A cases last week, bringing the total number of cases this year to 2,675 as of Saturday. Pasco, Pinellas, and Volusia counties continued to have the most cases, with 394, 368 and 242 cases, respectively. Marion County had the highest number of newly reported cases last week, with eight. Rivkees said he has beefed up the state's vaccination efforts by hiring part-time staff at county health departments. According to a tracking system called Florida SHOTS, county health departments have administered 41 percent of the vaccinations this year.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Another 64 cases of hepatitis A were reported to the state last week, bringing the total number of reported cases this year to 2,609, according to state data as of Saturday. Citrus County had nine new reported cases last week, the largest number in the state, a News Service of Florida analysis shows. Volusia County had the second-highest number of newly reported cases with seven, bringing its total number of reported cases to 236. Pinellas County had five newly reported cases, bringing its total this year to 363. Pasco County has had 392 cases this year, more than any other county in the state, though it had just one reported new case last week.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - The state has hired part-time workers to help abate the growing hepatitis A public health emergency, Department of Health Secretary Scott Rivkees told lawmakers on Wednesday. Rivkees told the House Health Quality Subcommittee that his department has used $3 million in funds from county health departments to hire additional workers. Smith noted that the budget for the current fiscal year eliminated 572 positions from the state health agency. According to the latest health department reports, there are 30 hepatitis A cases in Miami-Dade County and 15 in Broward County. "I recently visited with the county health department in Miami-Dade.

Moreover, 78 percent of the hepatitis A cases in Florida have required hospitalization, compared to 60 percent nationally. We have had 40 individuals who have passed away in the state of Florida," Rivkees told members of the Senate Health Policy Committee. Florida has had 2,540 reported cases this year of hepatitis A, including 78 last week, according to the latest data posted on the Department of Health website. The majority of vaccinations have been administered by providers who aren't connected with county health departments. "I wish to emphasize that we are currently unaware of any situation where hepatitis A has been transmitted from a food worker to a patron in the state of Florida," Rivkees told the panel.

A microscopic image of the Hepatitis A virus, taken by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Florida had 49 new cases of hepatitis A reported last week, bringing the total number of cases this year to 2,461, according to the latest data from the state Department of Health. Citrus, Lee and Volusia counties led the state last week with five new cases each. Palm Beach and Pinellas counties each had four new reported cases. Meanwhile, 10 counties have not reported any hepatitis A cases.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - The number of hepatitis A cases in Florida continues to climb, according to a Florida Department of Health report that showed the state has had 2,266 reported cases this year. Other parts of the state, such as rural counties across North Florida, have seen few cases. On Aug. 1, state Surgeon General Scott Rivkees declared a public emergency as a proactive step to appropriately alert the public to this serious illness and prevent further spread of Hepatitis A in our state." Rivkees encouraged people to be vaccinated against the virus, which is spread through oral injection or fecal matter. The News Service of Florida has analyzed the Department of Health data posted over the last four weeks.

Copyright 2019 CNNTALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Florida nurse anesthetists have come out in strong support of a new law meant to curb opioid abuse and slammed doctors for questioning the logistics of how to inform patients about opioid alternatives. We find it curious that the FMA is now questioning the law given their support during the 2019 legislative process, she wrote. Also, physicians are required to distribute a state-approved pamphlet on alternatives to opioids and document compliance with the law. It seems that many of the questions by the FMA complicate a very simple law that has a very simple intent, Newman wrote in her letter. HB 451 is a very simple law and its intent is clear.

A microscopic image of the Hepatitis A virus, taken by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - The number of hepatitis A cases in Florida continues to climb, with 68 new cases reported to state health officials last week. The largest number of new cases was in Pinellas County, which reported seven cases of the virus, followed by Volusia and Brevard counites, which each reported six new cases. Pasco County, which has reported more cases than any other county in Florida, reported five new cases last week, bringing its total to 373 cases. As of Saturday, 10 counties -- Dixie, Calhoun, Bradford, Gadsden, Gulf, Highlands Holmes, Lafayette, Jefferson and Union -- did not have any reported hepatitis A cases, while Suwannee County reported its first case last week.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Florida had 81 new hepatitis A cases reported last week, as state Surgeon General Scott Rivkees declared a public health emergency because of the virus, newly released numbers show. The 81 cases reported from July 28 to Saturday increased to 2,123 the number of hepatitis A cases reported in the state this year. Meanwhile, Volusia County had the largest number of newly reported cases last week with 11, according to a News Service of Florida analysis of the data. Pasco County reported an additional 10 cases, and Brevard and Palm Beach counties reported increases of seven cases. Meanwhile, 12 largely rural counties have not reported hepatitis A cases this year.

But its another seemingly simple bill meant to prevent opioid abuse that is causing widespread confusion among physicians trying to figure out how to follow the law. Staff members of the Florida Board of Medicine and physician organizations have been fielding questions from doctors about the broadly written bill, which was signed into law by Gov. But only the Florida Department of Health can provide details as to how the law will be interpreted. Florida Board of Medicine member Sarvam TerKonda, a plastic surgeon at Mayo Clinic Jacksonville, said he knows that the new law has sparked questions at hospitals. Its the standard of care for all physicians, that they should think about of opioid alternatives.

A microscopic image of the Hepatitis A virus, taken by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - After more than 2,000 cases of reported hepatitis A cases in Florida this year, state Surgeon General Scott Rivkees declared a public health emergency Thursday. "I am declaring this Public Health Emergency as a proactive step to appropriately alert the public to this serious illness and prevent further spread of Hepatitis A in our state," Rivkees said in a prepared statement issued to the media. Case counts for the first six months of 2019 have already surpassed the total number of cases reported last year, according to state health officials. There have been 2,034 hepatitis A cases reported to the state between January 1 and July 29, according to the Florida Department of Health.

A microscopic image of the Hepatitis A virus, taken by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - The Florida Department of Health is working with the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to address a hepatitis A outbreak and hopes the partnership will help expand vaccinations, state officials said Wednesday. Jeanette Nunez described as increasing our vaccination outreach.The state reported 1,718 cases of hepatitis A between Jan. 1 and June 29. Despite efforts to promote vaccinations, the state reported 346 cases between May 31 and June 29. State Surgeon General Scott Rivkees, who serves as secretary of the Department of Health, and Nunez announced the partnership with the CDC in the news release.

Totally exasperated, David Vukelja, one of Del Faveros owners, told The News Service of Florida in a telephone interview. But that hasnt happened to date, Vukelja, who is also Del Faveros general counsel, said. Under the amendment, state officials were to begin registering an unspecified number of medical marijuana treatment centers by Oct. 3, 2017. But state health officials contend that, because they have not opened the application process, Del Favero is not eligible for a license. Ron DeSantis, health officials received funding and authority to proceed with rulemaking that will allow the application process to move forward, Lockwood said.