COVID-19 cases in Miami-Dade and Broward continue rising

Hollywood, Fla. – The number of new cases of COVID-19 continues to rise across South Florida.

“This is a community fight in a way we have never seen before,” said Tina Vidal-Duart, CEO of CDR Health.

In Miami-Dade County, there have been some positive signs recently, with public officials seeing gains in the county’s vaccination rate of those between the ages of 12 and 19.

“Well, I see everybody around getting infected, so might as well put the vaccine in,” said 17-year-old Christian Escalona, who received his first dose on Friday.

City of Miami employees now have to wear masks while at work, unless they show proof of vaccination.

LIV nightclub In Miami Beach is offering their own shots, albeit a different kind than what they’re used to serving.

“Saturday and Sunday night at 12:30 a.m. to 3 a.m., we are offering free vaccinations for everyone who comes to the club,” said LIV nightclub owner David Grutman. “We want to stay open, and we know the only way for that to happen is that people get vaccinated.”

The need for hospital beds is also once again rising in Broward County.

According to health officials, the latest surge of COVID-19 is different.

“A little disheartening, more so than the last one, or the last two or three,” said Dr. Joshua Lenchus, Chief Medical Officer for Broward Health. “Because now we have a vaccine that’s out there, and that could prevent 97 percent of Covid positive people from coming into the hospital.”

According to Dr. Lenchus, all of their 300 COVID-19 patients that are hospitalized have not been vaccinated.

“At this point, there’s still the people that are anti-vaccine,” said Dr. Lenchus. “Frankly, there’s nothing that we can do about those people, no science is going to convince them. There are some people that aren’t getting the vaccine because they’re waiting for more data. I don’t know what more data you’re waiting for. 4.5 billion people in the world have been vaccinated.”