WINK Neighborhood Watch: Rifles, innapropriate texts and Donut shop debacleThe Weather Authority: Sunny Saturday with a nice breeze; fire danger increases
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA WINK Neighborhood Watch: Rifles, innapropriate texts and Donut shop debacle This week’s segment of WINK Neighborhood Watch features a scary mall trip, an inappropriate coach, and a Dunkin Donuts assault.
The Weather Authority: Sunny Saturday with a nice breeze; fire danger increases Warm temperatures for your Saturday with a nice breeze into the afternoon.
NORTH NAPLES Senior Airman surprises cousin on Aubrey Rogers softball senior night Aubrey Rogers senior pitcher and infielder McKenzie Vargas was surprised by her Air Force cousin for Senior Night.
BONITA SPRINGS Police: 15-year-old injured after accidentally shot in the leg Lee County deputies say the teen was accidentally shot in the leg.
PUNTA GORDA Exclusive: Brother and best friend of accused pedophile priest speak out Riley’s brother reached out to WINK on Friday, saying people aren’t getting the full story.
IMMOKALEE Caught on video: Huge gator crosses Immokalee neighborhood Fridays in Florida are for gators
FORT MYERS FGCU softball pitcher making a name for herself One season in FGCU, freshman pitcher Allison Sparkman is already ruffling feathers in the circle.
Surrendering-pets trend at Gulf Coast Humane Society raises concerns An large amount of pets are being surrendered by their owners. About half of the dogs at the Gulf Coast Humane Society are surrender dogs.
Students benefitting from millions in sales tax dollars So far, the voter-approved half-cent sales tax has brought in $507 million for the Lee County School District.
PORT CHARLOTTE ‘Shady’: One woman feels misled after federal student loan consolidation It takes some people decades to pay off their student loans. One woman’s last payment was in sight until she took a gamble she said she was told to take.
FORT MYERS Homeless encampments inch closer to neighborhoods Law enforcement has swept multiple encampments, cleaning the trails of mess and muck left behind, and some of these encampments are right in our backyards.
BIG CYPRESS PRESERVE What changes if Big Cypress National Preserve becomes a Wilderness Area? America’s first nationally designated preserve is in Southwest Florida’s backyard, and it is celebrating its 50th anniversary.
Method to treat IBD being used for other health issues Trying to get treatments for the brain when fighting neurological diseases like epilepsy and ALS is a challenge.
FORT MYERS NTSB report reveals new details in helicopter crash after Hurricane Ian The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has released its final report on a helicopter crash that occurred in Iona, Florida, shortly after Hurricane Ian.
NAPLES Memorial celebrates the life of John Passidomo Hundreds of friends and family gathered for a memorial at Baker Park in Naples.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA WINK Neighborhood Watch: Rifles, innapropriate texts and Donut shop debacle This week’s segment of WINK Neighborhood Watch features a scary mall trip, an inappropriate coach, and a Dunkin Donuts assault.
The Weather Authority: Sunny Saturday with a nice breeze; fire danger increases Warm temperatures for your Saturday with a nice breeze into the afternoon.
NORTH NAPLES Senior Airman surprises cousin on Aubrey Rogers softball senior night Aubrey Rogers senior pitcher and infielder McKenzie Vargas was surprised by her Air Force cousin for Senior Night.
BONITA SPRINGS Police: 15-year-old injured after accidentally shot in the leg Lee County deputies say the teen was accidentally shot in the leg.
PUNTA GORDA Exclusive: Brother and best friend of accused pedophile priest speak out Riley’s brother reached out to WINK on Friday, saying people aren’t getting the full story.
IMMOKALEE Caught on video: Huge gator crosses Immokalee neighborhood Fridays in Florida are for gators
FORT MYERS FGCU softball pitcher making a name for herself One season in FGCU, freshman pitcher Allison Sparkman is already ruffling feathers in the circle.
Surrendering-pets trend at Gulf Coast Humane Society raises concerns An large amount of pets are being surrendered by their owners. About half of the dogs at the Gulf Coast Humane Society are surrender dogs.
Students benefitting from millions in sales tax dollars So far, the voter-approved half-cent sales tax has brought in $507 million for the Lee County School District.
PORT CHARLOTTE ‘Shady’: One woman feels misled after federal student loan consolidation It takes some people decades to pay off their student loans. One woman’s last payment was in sight until she took a gamble she said she was told to take.
FORT MYERS Homeless encampments inch closer to neighborhoods Law enforcement has swept multiple encampments, cleaning the trails of mess and muck left behind, and some of these encampments are right in our backyards.
BIG CYPRESS PRESERVE What changes if Big Cypress National Preserve becomes a Wilderness Area? America’s first nationally designated preserve is in Southwest Florida’s backyard, and it is celebrating its 50th anniversary.
Method to treat IBD being used for other health issues Trying to get treatments for the brain when fighting neurological diseases like epilepsy and ALS is a challenge.
FORT MYERS NTSB report reveals new details in helicopter crash after Hurricane Ian The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has released its final report on a helicopter crash that occurred in Iona, Florida, shortly after Hurricane Ian.
NAPLES Memorial celebrates the life of John Passidomo Hundreds of friends and family gathered for a memorial at Baker Park in Naples.
Credit: CBS News. The first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine arriving in Southwest Florida is bringing excitement for a return to a normal life, but there’s a catch. Everyone who gets that shot will need to get a second one in order for the vaccine to work – and those appointments are weeks away. After the year we’ve had, we all want to be close to our loved ones and friends, but experts say that can’t happen just yet, not even if you’ve had the first dose of the coronavirus vaccine. “We want to make sure we get our shot tomorrow and try to get back to a normal life again,” said Robert Downing of Cape Coral. For the Downings, getting the vaccine signals the end of 2020 and the loneliness and isolation that came with it. “Our family is in California, Boston, Texas, and we really miss them. And just to get back to our normal life means a lot to us,” said Stephanie Downing. But for all the comfort and confidence that getting the first dose brings, experts warn that the one thing that doesn’t come with it is an immediate return to normalcy. “It is not something that says, ‘Oh, I’m free! I’m out of COVID jail.’ No, we’re not out of COVID jail. We have to still live responsibly,” said Dr. Stephanie Stovall, medical director for pediatric infection prevention and epidemiology at Lee Health. “Having some level of immunity means that if I accidentally do something I shouldn’t – forget to wear a mask when I should, forget to wash my hands before I rub my eyes – I’ve got another layer of protection there to back up my actions.” That’s because you need both doses to reach the 95% efficacy rate, and even after the booster, you’ll still have to wait. “It takes on the order of a week or two before your body can mount that immune response that makes it a little safer to see others,” said Dr. Stephen Kissler with the Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases at Harvard School of Public Health. If you don’t, you could end up hurting those same loved ones you’ve been trying to protect all year. “We don’t know anything about whether or not this vaccine can keep us from getting asymptomatic infection and therefore spread it to other people,” Stovall said. “Wearing a mask and even maybe not hugging a loved one – perceiving all of that as, ‘I’m doing something good for myself and the people that I love,'” said Dr. Yaro Garcia, clinical and accreditation coordinator with the Florida Gulf Coast University Department of Counseling. Something else to keep in mind is that the vaccine isn’t 100% effective either and it will be a while before it’s available to everyone. So even after you’ve received both doses of the vaccine, it’s still a good idea to use safety precautions.