MIAMI – By the end of next week, Nancy Krinick expects to receive her second dose of COVID-19 vaccine. But the 67-year-old legal secretary from Sunrise, Florida, plans to maintain her daily routine to avoid virtually all human contact, even after she has been fully vaccinated. The same goes for her sister and her brother-in-law, who are both over 65 and got their first shots with her at Marlins Park in Miami, Krinick told The Daily Beast.
“With these new variants, we are still concerned,” she said, adding: “It seems to be never-ending.”
She will continue to have her groceries delivered to her home via Instacart, not eat and will visit her daughter in Knoxsville, Tennessee, until the majority of the U.S. population is immunized, Krinick said.
As extra-infectious mutations of the coronavirus accumulate power like a hurricane raging on the Atlantic coast, Floridians like Krinick see no sign of resignation. Although they have yet to provide formal guidelines on vaccination gatherings, state and national health experts have assured the general public that the vaccines are effective – even if they may be less, against the variants that are emerging nationwide.
But in a state with a long history of recklessness with pandemics and where mask mandates do not exist, vaccinated Floridians do not want to run the risk of becoming infected by going out in public.
Here’s a little relief to get a chance.
Deadly COVID mutations could not stop party in Florida
Thanks to the continued approach of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to force his state to be wide open to business and pleasure, the boom in the distribution of the community seems virtually inevitable. This past weekend, despite warnings from state epidemiologists, Tampa stormed a potential event in the Tampa distribution, led by legions of Buccaneers fans, most of whom were maskless and celebrated hometown victory when the Super Bowl ended .
“Every time I see such super-spreaders, yes, it scares me,” said Mark Zeitlin, a 70-year-old man from Boynton Beach, Florida, who received both of his shots. “It’s not just Tampa. It happens everywhere. ”
Glenn Charnizon, a 66-year-old from Delray Beach, Florida, who also received both doses, said he and his wife would not eat, travel or go to the grocery store for a “long, long time.”
“Just because we’ve been vaccinated, does not mean we can not get COVID,” Charinzon said. “We take no chances until 70 to 80 percent of the population is vaccinated.”
Meanwhile, the Biden White House is reportedly considering new restrictions on domestic travel with major implications in Florida, representing more than a third of all documented U.S. cases of the B-117 variant, also known as the highly contagious British variant. Researchers are also watching for any outbreaks in Florida of other varieties from Brazil and South Africa found elsewhere in the United States, but not – officially – in the Sunshine States.
DeSantis’ response was to discipline reporters for allegedly addressing the coronavirus dangers of anti-social justice protests and celebrations of Biden’s election victory over Donald Trump, belittling, and a defiant tone regarding any travel restrictions. At a Thursday press conference, DeSantis said: ‘We will oppose it 100 percent. It will not be based in science. It would simply be a political attack on the people of Florida. A spokesman for the governor’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
Elderly people who spoke to The Daily Beast said DeSantis was deliberately blunt in passing here because it contained the pandemic. “The governor of this state is out of control,” Charnizon said. Krinick, the legal secretary, added: “DeSantis? Not a fan. I think he’s doing nothing. ”
To be sure, dr. Anthony Fauci, the country’s leading expert on infectious diseases, recently said getting both doses of COVID-19 vaccine is the best way to propose the new mutant variants. And dr. Mary Jo Trepka, a professor of infectious diseases in Florida, told The Daily Beast that the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are very effective in preventing people from getting sick – including the British variant.
Given the basic limitations of any vaccine and the spread of various cases in a condition conspicuous by pandemic absurdity, Floridians cannot stop quickly.
“It is possible that people who received their second dose could still catch the virus,” Trepka said. ‘They can be asymptomatic and contagious. But we are very concerned about more variants popping up because we can get one on which vaccines do not work. ”
‘Nobody’s Thinking About COVID’: Get Ready for Super Bowl Superspreaders
Because of the widespread community outbreak in Florida, vaccines alone will not end the pandemic, she argued – even if the shots on DeSantis’ only strategy came to an end.
“Even though you are one of those who have received full doses, you are still in many people who have not been vaccinated yet,” she said. ‘We need people who wear masks, physically distance themselves and avoid large crowds. Many people follow it religiously and many do not. ”
The fear and anger about the dangers posed even after vaccination is not just limited to the senior citizens who prefer DeSantis over all others. In the labor and maternity ward of North Miami’s Northshore Medical Center, fully vaccinated health workers are still on their guard, said one nurse who asked for anonymity because she did not have permission from the hospital to speak to the media. .
‘Because of the new variants and people who are not safe, I still wear a mask when I go out and I still do not go to family functions because I know I can not trust family members who are in the streets and not take proper precautions, ”she said.
The terrifying reality that Florida is a living petri dish for coronavirus mutations means that seniors like Carla Golembe will just keep isolating themselves even though she got both of her shots.
“The variant is narrow,” the 67-year-old artist from Delray Beach, Florida, told The Daily Beast. “We do not know much about them. Just when we think we are starting to understand this virus, there are more curveballs now. ‘
After two weeks, after her body built up full immunity, the only major outing she planned was a trip to her dentist, she said.
“Maybe on a quiet afternoon I would go to a double mask in a grocery store,” she said. ‘I hope my husband, who also got both of his shots, can get along with other friends who have been fully vaccinated. We want to visit again, but of course at a distance and outside. ”
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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