Coronavirus

The Mayo Clinic has put together a Q&A about the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) joint recommendation to pause distribution of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine after reported cases of rare blood clotting events in recipients.

Florida has put a halt to the administration of Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines after the CDC and the FDA recommended a “pause” as they investigate reports of very rare, but potentially dangerous blood clots.

Editor's Note:  Tuesday morning, following this story's Monday publication, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration said they are recommending a "pause" in the use of the single-dose Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine out of an "abundance of caution" while an investigation is conducted into reports of apparently rare, potentially dangerous blood clots.

Original Post: Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines will be available at several pop-up sites around Northeast Florida this week, starting Tuesday at Lutheran Social Services in Jacksonville.

Answering the question of how the state would handle standardized testing this year, the Florida Department of Education issued an emergency order Friday waiving accountability measures tied to state exams. 

The Jacksonville Transportation Authority is offering free 1-day passes to anyone who wants a ride to a COVID-19 vaccination site in Jacksonville.

Beginning Tuesday, Florida’s federally supported COVID-19 vaccination sites will provide only the one-dose Johnson & Johnson shots.

Opening up vaccinations to every Floridian age 16 and above on Monday prompted long lines in some parts of the state, but not at Jacksonville’s largest site: the Gateway Town Center.

Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday issued an executive order barring government agencies from issuing COVID-19 “passports” and preventing Florida businesses from requiring customers to show documentation that they have been vaccinated or have recovered from COVID-19 before gaining entrance.

St. Johns County announced Wednesday it is now accepting COVID-19 vaccination appointment preregistrations for Florida residents age 16 years and older to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.

After missing a year because of the coronavirus, the Clay County Agricultural Fair is back, with new safety precautions. 

Florida is considering legal avenues to challenge federal guidelines that keep passenger cruise ships from sailing because of the COVID-19 pandemic, as efforts continue to convince the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to lift restrictions. Jacksonville is among the Florida cities where cruises have been halted since the pandemic.

The city issued a permit for construction of a Walmart Health clinic at the retailer’s Southwest Jacksonville Supercenter in Collins Plaza.

Presale tickets went on sale Thursday for an April 24 Ultimate Fighting Championship event that’s scheduled to be the first large-scale full-capacity sporting event planned in Jacksonville since the pandemic began. 

Beginning Monday, March 29, everyone age 40 and older will be eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine in Florida.

A new pool of money for emergencies, separate from the state’s traditional "rainy day" funds, would be created in the governor’s office under a pandemic relief measure approved Tuesday by a Senate committee.

Krispy Kreme, which has four Jacksonville donut shop locations, has rolled out a tasty incentive for people to get their COVID-19 vaccines.

Vice President Kamala Harris visited Jacksonville Monday afternoon.

Harris departed Washington, D.C., landing at Jacksonville International Airport at 1:39 p.m., according to the White House. 

Coronavirus vaccines are now open to everyone age 50 and up in Florida, but a University of Florida College of Medicine – Jacksonville doctor would like to see that number dropped down to age 16.

For anyone looking forward to the annual frivolity of spring break or the diversion offered every year by March Madness, the coronavirus pandemic is once again reminding: not so fast.