FORT MYERS, Fla. — Today, Dr. Larry Antonucci, President and CEO of Lee Health, urged the community to get vaccinated as he gave an account of the current state of the coronavirus in our community:
“In the last two weeks the number of COVID-19 patients in our hospitals has nearly doubled, and this morning we are caring for 60 COVID-19 patients. This serves as a stark reminder that Southwest Florida is still in the thick of the pandemic. Only about half of Lee County has received a COVID-19 vaccination, and we are seeing the effects of that in our hospitals. The best way to safely end this pandemic is to get vaccinated.
The Delta variant has posed new challenges, and is a possible reason for the increase in new hospitalizations. Even if you are vaccinated, you should still consider wearing a mask in public to protect against the Delta and other possible variants. In addition to masking, vaccines have shown to provide protection against this variant.
We have been in this fight against the coronavirus for 16 months now, and science and research have given us a safe and effective way to end the pandemic. However, for the vaccine to stop the spread of the coronavirus, enough people must get vaccinated. For the safety of our community, I am asking anyone who has not yet been vaccinated to please consider doing so as soon as possible.”
