Health

An Apollo Beach father living with leukemia died from COVID-19 last week despite being fully vaccinated, and his son said he hopes his dad’s situation motivates others with health conditions to rethink their risk.

"He bought into all the conspiracy theories that were saying somehow vaccination was a way to infiltrate bad things into your bloodstream, control and freedom. My daughter and I used to tease him all the time and say, ‘You know, there’s no freedom if you’re dead.’"

The COVID-19 pandemic is causing another shortage. So much oxygen is needed for hospital patients that it’s putting liquid oxygen in short supply.

In a letter filed late Wednesday, the Hillsborough school district says it believes its mask mandate is consistent with the law and will remain in effect now that quarantines and cases are going down.

The Florida Department of Health says it will issue $5,000 fines to businesses, government agencies and government institutions that violate the state's ban on so-called COVID-19 "vaccine passports."

Florida now has had more than 3.25 million cases of COVID-19 among residents since the pandemic started in early 2020. Meanwhile, more than one out of every three patients hospitalized in Florida has COVID-19, according to the US Department of Health and Human Services.

Lakeland Regional Health, like many other Tampa Bay area hospitals, is bringing in mobile coolers because their morgues are near or at capacity due to COVID-19.

The NFL Players Association has launched an investigation following Jacksonville Jaguars coach Urban Meyer's admission that vaccination status factored into the team's roster decisions: "‘Is he vaccinated or not?’ Can I say that that was a decision-maker? It was certainly in consideration."

About 60 children are being admitted per day to Florida hospitals for COVID-19, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, up from about five per day throughout much of the pandemic — even previous surges.