Caught on Camera: Firefighters respond to dumpster fire at FGCUFGCU students affected by Covid celebrate first commencement ceremony
FORT MYERS Caught on Camera: Firefighters respond to dumpster fire at FGCU San Carlos Park Fire District responded to a dumpster fire Sunday afternoon.
FORT MYERS FGCU students affected by Covid celebrate first commencement ceremony Graduation is a right of passage from school to the real world, but for these students, reality hit them in 2020.
PUNTA GORDA Motorcycle crash leaves 1 dead One person has died after a motorcycle crash in Charlotte County.
LEE COUNTY Lee Deputies work to track down transient sex offenders who fail to register WINK News Anchor Corey Lazar goes on patrol with Lee County Deputies in search of transient sex offenders who don’t register.
National Hurricane Preparedness Week: Know your risk Hurricane season starts on June 1st, but the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has designated the week of May 5 through May 11 as National Hurricane Preparedness Week. Each day, Meteorologist Lauren Kreidler will be highlighting ways to stay prepared ahead of this year’s hurricane season.
Southwest Florida The Weather Authority: Stay alert – chance of showers and storms on Sunday Hot, humid, and more rain for parts of Southwest Florida on Sunday.
CAPE CORAL What we learned about Cape Coral’s water crisis after a ride along On Friday, WINK News got to ride along to see just what people are doing that could be wasting water.
The Weather Authority: A wet Saturday evening as storms move through Southwest Florida A rainy Saturday evening across much of southwest Florida.
FORT MYERS Lee Health Touch-A-Truck event educates families on Trauma Awareness On Saturday morning, sirens were ringing to celebrate Lee Health Trauma Center’s 30 years of service and to provide the public with trauma education and prevention methods.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA (CBS) CDC says bird flu viruses “pose pandemic potential,” cites major knowledge gaps Bird flu continues to appear to pose a “low risk to the general public” for now, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says. But the agency’s scientists ran into roadblocks investigating a human case of this “pandemic potential” virus this year, they said in a new report.
DOWNTOWN FORT MYERS Bay Street Yard set to open in late May A new place to hang out in Downtown Fort Myers is opening this spring.
Aetna agrees to settle lawsuit over fertility coverage for LGBTQ+ customers Aetna has agreed to settle a lawsuit that accused the health insurer of discriminating against LGBTQ+ customers in need of fertility treatment.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA WINK Neighborhood Watch: Robbery, Pawn Shops, and Child Porn This week’s segment of Wink Neighborhood Watch features an armed robber, fraud at a pawn shop, and possession of child pornography.
Southwest Florida The Weather Authority: Sun, clouds, humidity, rain – it’s all in your weekend forecast Saturday afternoon will be hot and humid, with a mix of sun and clouds.
LEHIGH ACRES Chaotic lake getting fence and security Now, with all the negative attention it has gotten, some think putting up a fence is a great way to keep that bad activity out.
FORT MYERS Caught on Camera: Firefighters respond to dumpster fire at FGCU San Carlos Park Fire District responded to a dumpster fire Sunday afternoon.
FORT MYERS FGCU students affected by Covid celebrate first commencement ceremony Graduation is a right of passage from school to the real world, but for these students, reality hit them in 2020.
PUNTA GORDA Motorcycle crash leaves 1 dead One person has died after a motorcycle crash in Charlotte County.
LEE COUNTY Lee Deputies work to track down transient sex offenders who fail to register WINK News Anchor Corey Lazar goes on patrol with Lee County Deputies in search of transient sex offenders who don’t register.
National Hurricane Preparedness Week: Know your risk Hurricane season starts on June 1st, but the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has designated the week of May 5 through May 11 as National Hurricane Preparedness Week. Each day, Meteorologist Lauren Kreidler will be highlighting ways to stay prepared ahead of this year’s hurricane season.
Southwest Florida The Weather Authority: Stay alert – chance of showers and storms on Sunday Hot, humid, and more rain for parts of Southwest Florida on Sunday.
CAPE CORAL What we learned about Cape Coral’s water crisis after a ride along On Friday, WINK News got to ride along to see just what people are doing that could be wasting water.
The Weather Authority: A wet Saturday evening as storms move through Southwest Florida A rainy Saturday evening across much of southwest Florida.
FORT MYERS Lee Health Touch-A-Truck event educates families on Trauma Awareness On Saturday morning, sirens were ringing to celebrate Lee Health Trauma Center’s 30 years of service and to provide the public with trauma education and prevention methods.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA (CBS) CDC says bird flu viruses “pose pandemic potential,” cites major knowledge gaps Bird flu continues to appear to pose a “low risk to the general public” for now, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says. But the agency’s scientists ran into roadblocks investigating a human case of this “pandemic potential” virus this year, they said in a new report.
DOWNTOWN FORT MYERS Bay Street Yard set to open in late May A new place to hang out in Downtown Fort Myers is opening this spring.
Aetna agrees to settle lawsuit over fertility coverage for LGBTQ+ customers Aetna has agreed to settle a lawsuit that accused the health insurer of discriminating against LGBTQ+ customers in need of fertility treatment.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA WINK Neighborhood Watch: Robbery, Pawn Shops, and Child Porn This week’s segment of Wink Neighborhood Watch features an armed robber, fraud at a pawn shop, and possession of child pornography.
Southwest Florida The Weather Authority: Sun, clouds, humidity, rain – it’s all in your weekend forecast Saturday afternoon will be hot and humid, with a mix of sun and clouds.
LEHIGH ACRES Chaotic lake getting fence and security Now, with all the negative attention it has gotten, some think putting up a fence is a great way to keep that bad activity out.
In the new year, as the vaccine rollout continues in Southwest Florida, health officials are hoping this will be a big step in controlling the pandemic. Waves of emotion swept across SWFL a vaccines became available to those 65 and older and high-risk frontline health care workers. Ellen and Bob Iverson say they were relieved. “It was just a big relief and we started feeling emotional just as the like started moving closer and closer,” said the Iversons. Bob and Ellen Iverson are some of the lucky ones who were first to get vaccine doses in Lee County. “Knowing that you’re going to survive it because we’ve been able to get the vaccine so just an unbelievable feeling,” said Bob. Sandra Snyder says she’s been wanting to see her kids. “”We’re all concerned and we all want to see our kids and our grandkids,” said Snyder. But now that she’s gotten the vaccine. “Didn’t feel a thing. I think the flu shot is worse than that,” Snyder said. After about two weeks of vaccinations, nearly 12,000 doses have been administered. But, that feeling of relief is shared by less than one percent of Southwest Floridians and falls short of what’s needed for herd immunity. Dr. Stephen Kissler works with the Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases at the Harvard School of Public Health. Kissler says vaccine prioritization is key. “It really does seem to make a lot of sense to prioritize vaccines to those who are at highest risk of severe complications of the illness. So that clearly puts older people high on the list of people who you want to vaccinate,” he said. “If the virus has a reproduction number of about three, so that infectious person is likely to infect three others,” said Dr. Kissler. “Then, that means that you need essentially two-thirds of the population to be fully protected.” “The goal is to have even the least vaccinated communities to still have that high level of population immunity, which requires a really, really large amount of people to be vaccinated,” Dr. Kissler said. There’s so much uncertainty surrounding how many more vaccine doses SWFL receive and when. Roger Desjarlais is the Lee County Manager. “The dates and times for additional vaccines…they’ll be coming from the state,” said Desjarlais. Health officials and leaders say we need to stay focused. Dr. Larry Antonucci is the President and CEO of Lee Health. “The coronavirus is still spreading, and hospitalizations and deaths are still rising. People’s lives are at stake, and just because the vaccine brings hope does not mean we can let up now,” said Dr. Antonucci. Eyes are also on Governor DeSantis and his team to keep us moving forward. “In the state of Florida, it’s a little bit unique because we recognize that the governor has really taken a front and center approach as to how the vaccination strategy is being rolled out,” said Dr. Oscar Alleyne. In the state of Florida more than 211,000 thousand people have received their first dose of the vaccine, which again is less than one percent of the population. Kristine Hollingsworth with the Florida Department of Health in Collier County says they will continuously be receiving the vaccine. “We will be continuously receiving vaccine throughout the vaccine roll out. So this is not the only supply that we have,” said Hollingsworth. COVID-19 VARIANT Submit Copyright ©2024 Fort Myers Broadcasting. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without prior written consent.