Last Call for 8.5.21 — A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida politics

Last Call — A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida politics.

First Shot

Some good news about the COVID-19 pandemic in Florida: More people are getting vaccinated.

U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data shows an uptick in Floridians receiving at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine.

As of Aug. 3, 58.3% of the state received at least one dose of the vaccine. That’s up from 53.2% the week before.

But Florida’s vaccination numbers still lag behind the national vaccination rate. More than 70% of Americans have received at least one dose of the vaccine.

And the highly transmissible delta variant already has its grip on the state. The number of COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths are still snowballing.

Perhaps most alarming is that for the last four days in a row Florida has broken its record for the highest number of COVID-19 hospitalizations since the pandemic started topping well over 12,000, according to data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

COVID-19 deaths are known to lag behind hospitalizations — data shows anywhere from two to eight weeks.

With more grim news on the horizon, Gov. Ron DeSantis’ used his platform Thursday to point out help for people who are already sick, pushing a COVID-19 antibody treatment the FDA approved for emergency use in COVID-19 patients.

“We, obviously, worked very hard to offer the vaccines to seniors first but then to everyone who wanted it. But certainly, the name of the game is, if you’re infected, we just want you to be OK,” DeSantis said, speaking to reporters at Tampa General’s Global Emerging Diseases Institute.

DeSantis acknowledged that Florida’s seasonal COVID-19 surge has turned out to be worse than he thought.

“This is our COVID season. We thought we would see an increase. I don’t know that we thought we would necessarily see this many positive tests,” DeSantis said.

Evening Reads

“‘There are only so many beds’: COVID-19 surge hits hospitals” via Kelli Kennedy and Philip Marcelo of The Associated Press

“Kamala Harris knows she’s trapped” via Peter Nicholas of The Atlantic

“Some Republicans have changed their messaging on the COVID-19 vaccine. Is it too little, too late?” via Mary Radcliffe and Alex Samuels of FiveThirtyEight

“COVID-19 cases now fall into 3 distinct categories” via Dylan Scott of Vox

“A near press blackout in Afghanistan: The war that Americans forgot is ending in chaos and secrecy.” via Megan K. Stack of The New Yorker

“‘We will ROC you’: How Russians crushed the Tokyo Olympics under an alias” via Georgi Kantchev, Andrew Beaton and Joshua Robinson of The Wall Street Journal

“How a Cape Cod vacation spot stress-tested the coronavirus vaccine with summer partying, delta variant” via Hannah Knowles and Randy Dotinga of The Washington Post

“Donald Trump is planning a much more respectable coup next time” via Richard L. Hasen of Slate

“The Andrew Cuomo report and the #MeToo “reckoning” that never really came” via Esther Wang of The New Republic

“Going for broke in cryptoland” via David Segal of The New York Times

“When money can’t buy shots” via Henry Goldman and Amy Yee of Bloomberg

“State Board of Ed: Kids could go to private schools if families dislike public COVID-19 policies” via Danielle J. Brown of Florida Phoenix

“’Rude guests will be eaten whole’: How a Hollywood hangout is dealing with a crush of awful guest behavior” via Chris Gardner of The Hollywood Reporter

Quote of the Day

“School boards — stand up. Do what is right. We will get your back.” — Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, encouraging school districts to defy the Governor’s ban on mask mandates.

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