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In Lee County, hundreds of people lined up again overnight for their shots on Tuesday, with the situation turning hostile at times.

All three sites — one each in Bonita Springs, Lehigh Acres and Fort Myers  — were at capacity before the clinics were set to open at 9 a.m.

Lee County

BONITA SPRINGS

In Bonita Springs, people who waited in the early morning lines called it “mayhem,” with people pushing and shoving, but deputies got it under control fairly quickly.

People in line were given a red ticket with a number on it, which meant they were going to get the vaccine. Then, some people got a half ticket, which meant they were on standby to get the vaccine if enough were left. There were 800 doses available, officials said.

Everyone in the line had a story about why they wanted the shot. To them, it means freedom.

Some people tried to get the vaccine Monday at the Estero site, but were turned away and got in line in Bonita Springs early Tuesday. They came prepared with blankets, chairs, water, and some even brought games to play.

Initially, Lee County said there would be 400 shots at each location, but the numbers are fluid and changing.

FORT MYERS

People were already lining up Monday evening at the S.T.A.R.S. Complex in Fort Myers.

The county is advising people not to camp out, but it isn’t stopping anyone from doing so.

The crowds were calm and cooperative, as they waited for the shots to begin.

“It’s just unreal how they did it. It was perfect. Everything was they told what was going on, how long it was going to be,” said Tom Lauzon of Cape Coral. “They had the military here. Everything was well organized, hundreds of people to make this thing happen today.”

Officials say printing out the consent form at home and having it ready helps keep the line moving.

NORTH FORT MYERS 

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American Airlines passengers took off Tuesday on the first U.S. commercial flight of a Boeing 737 Max since the aircraft was allowed to return to service after a nearly two-year absence. The top-selling aircraft has been grounded worldwide since March 2019 following two crashes overseas that killed 346 people.

The aerospace giant since then has worked with regulators to address the technical issues and improve pilot training.

American Airlines flight 718 is carrying about 100 passengers from Miami to New York’s La Guardia airport. The Max aircraft already had its first commercial flight on December 9 with a domestic trip by Brazil’s budget carrier Gol, and United Airlines is due to return the Max to its U.S. fleet with flights on February 11.

Earlier this month, CBS News’ Kris Van Cleave was on board as an American Airlines 737 Max took off from Dallas heading for Tulsa, Oklahoma, for a demo flight.

“Our pilots, our mechanics, our flight attendants are all comfortable,” David Seymour, chief operating officer of American Airlines, told CBS News. “It’s ready to get in the air. And there’s no other reason why we would just wait and continue to hold on it.”

The return comes after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in late November cleared the jet to fly again following upgrades to its software and new pilot training protocols.

Last month, the Federal Aviation Administration approved changes that Boeing made to an automated flight-control system implicated in crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia that killed 346 people in all. In both crashes, the system pushed the nose down repeatedly based on faulty sensor readings, and pilots were unable to regain control.

The Max crisis caused waves of order cancelations for Boeing, and the collapse in travel caused by the coronavirus pandemic hurt the company further.

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A Charlotte County deputy working at Vineland Elementary School was disciplined for searching for porn on a school computer, according to an internal affairs investigation by the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office.

David Imbruno, who has worked for the agency for six years, three of them as a school resource officer, received a 48-hour unpaid suspension after the investigation found he behaved in a way that was unbecoming to the law enforcement agency.

Imbruno will also be on six-month probation and will be removed from the school resource officer unit, but can reapply after a year.

A routine audit in November of internet usage for Charlotte County Public Schools flagged more than 100 pages of blocked content coming from Imbruno’s login credentials, according to the internal affairs investigation.

Further investigation found the searches were coming from Imbruno’s desktop computer in his office at the school.

Imbruno admitted to investigators that he used the computer for personal searches, including where to go on vacation, discounts, supplements and gym workouts.

When confronted with the pornographic search history, Imbruno also admitted he used the computer in the cases. He said he did it only when he was alone in his office and described it as “just being stupid,” according to the report.

He said any inappropriate images were blocked on the computer. Imbruno called his behavior a “lapse in judgment.”

“DFC Imbruno said he tries to go above and beyond for the good of the community and loves being an SRO,” the investigation report states, adding that “he realizes his actions were a disservice to the community and his school.”

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Parents now have an extra reason to say no to candy, cake and ice cream for young children. The first U.S. government dietary guidelines for infants and toddlers, released Tuesday, recommend feeding only breast milk for at least six months and no added sugar for children under age 2.

“It’s never too early to start,” said Barbara Schneeman, a nutritionist at University of California, Davis. “You have to make every bite count in those early years.”

The guidelines stop short of two key recommendations from scientists advising the government. Those advisers said in July that everyone should limit their added sugar intake to less than 6% of calories and men should limit alcohol to one drink per day.

Instead, the guidelines stick with previous advice: limit added sugar to less than 10% of calories per day after age 2. And men should limit alcohol to no more than two drinks per day, twice as much as advised for women.

“I don’t think we’re finished with alcohol,” said Schneeman, who chaired a committee advising the government on the guidelines. “There’s more we need to learn.”

The dietary guidelines are issued every five years by the Agriculture Department and the Department of Health and Human Services. The government uses them to set standards for school lunches and other programs. Some highlights:

INFANTS, TODDLERS AND MOMS

Babies should have only breast milk at least until they reach 6 months, the guidelines say. If breast milk isn’t available, they should get iron-fortified infant formula during the first year. Babies should get supplemental vitamin D beginning soon after birth.

Babies can start eating other food at about 6 months and should be introduced to potential allergenic foods along with other foods.

“Introducing peanut-containing foods in the first year reduces the risk that an infant will develop a food allergy to peanuts,” the guidelines say.

There’s more advice than in prior guidelines for pregnant and breastfeeding women. To promote healthy brain development in their babies, these women should eat 8 to 12 ounces of seafood per week. They should be sure to choose fish – such as cod, salmon, sardines and tilapia – with lower levels of mercury, which can harm children’s nervous systems.

Pregnant women should not drink alcohol, according to the guidelines, and breastfeeding women should be cautious. Caffeine in modest amounts appears safe and women can discuss that with their doctors.

WHAT’S ON YOUR PLATE?

Most Americans fall short of following the best advice on nutrition, contributing to obesity, heart disease and diabetes. Much of the new advice sounds familiar: Load your plate with fruits and vegetables, and cut back on sweets, saturated fats and sodium.

The guidelines suggest making small changes that add up: Substitute plain shredded wheat for frosted cereal. Choose low-sodium canned black beans. Drink sparkling water instead of soda.

There’s an app to help people follow the guidelines available through the government’s My Plate website.

READ LABELS

The biggest sources of added sugars in the typical U.S. diet are soda and other sugar-sweetened beverages, desserts, snacks, candy and sweetened coffee and tea. These foods contribute very little nutrition, so the guidelines advise limits.

There’s information on added sugar on the “Nutrition Facts” label on packaged foods. Information on saturated fats and sodium is on the label too.

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A North Port man was arrested Monday after deputies say he sold drugs to a woman who later overdosed and died.

The North Port Police Department says that in June 2019, Michael Stankus, 47, sold a number of drugs that resulted in the death of a 59-year-old North Port woman. Investigators found that Stankus and the woman messaged each other about the transaction before the woman’s death.

An autopsy and toxicology report revealed her cause of death was an overdose of the drugs diazepam, hydromorphone and cocaine.

More recently, police say an undercover detective was able to purchase fentanyl from Stankus, resulting in charges for selling a controlled substance.

Stankus is being held at the Sarasota County Jail on a $100,000 bond.

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Lee County officials gave an update Tuesday afternoon on the distribution of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine.

Commissioner Chairman Kevin Ruane, Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno, Angela Smith, the Florida Department of Health-Lee County administrator, and other officials attended.

“We absolutely were not expecting to have 1,000 people lined up by 7 o’clock this morning in Bonita, and so we increased the number of doses that we had allocated for that site because we felt that was only fair that we do so,’ Smith said. “But it’s truly contingent on the supply, and as you know from a national perspective, that supply chain is relatively uncertain right now.”

You can watch a replay below or by clicking here.

 

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The Fort Myers Police Department is attempting to identify a truck and person involved in a theft of a trailer and two Mercury Verado outboard motors that occurred on Christmas Day.

The theft occurred at 8:30 a.m. at 2725 Lafayette Street.

Anyone with information on the silver Chevrolet Silverado and its driver is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-780-TIPS (8477).

Authorities are trying to identify a Chevrolet Silverado involved in a theft on Christmas Day. (CREDIT: Fort Myers Police Department)

 

Authorities are trying to identify a Chevrolet Silverado involved in a theft on Christmas Day. (CREDIT: Fort Myers Police Department)

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A Lehigh Acres man, 32, was seriously injured after crashing his car into a canal Tuesday morning.

According to the Florida Highway Patrol, the driver was traveling south on Douglas Avenue South in Lehigh Acres around 6:20 a.m., passing the intersection of 30th Street Southwest, when he failed to slow down as he approached the canal at the end of the avenue. His car traveled off the roadway and its front collided with the canal ditch. The car came to rest in the canal, facing south.

The driver was transported to Lee Memorial Hospital in serious condition.

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Federal health researchers and vaccine maker Novavax announced Monday that they will begin a Phase 3 trial for Novavax’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate in the United States, marking the fifth such shot in the country to reach its key final stage of testing.

“We’ve come this far, this fast, but we need to get to the finish line,” Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, said in a statement. “That will require multiple vaccines using different approaches to ensure everyone is protected safely and effectively from this deadly disease.”

Novavax plans to enroll some 30,000 people across 115 sites in the United States and Mexico to test the shot, known as NVX-CoV2373. The company is also conducting a Phase 3 trial of the vaccine in the United Kingdom, where enrollment was completed last month.

Similar to other COVID-19 vaccines, Novavax’s two-shot regimen is designed to boost the body’s immune response against the distinctive coronavirus spike protein. While the mRNA vaccines rolled out by Pfizer and Moderna rely on the body’s cells producing antigens to hone the body’s defenses, Novavax manufactures its own antigens mimicking the virus’ spike protein. The antigen “can neither replicate, nor can it cause COVID-19,” Novavax stated.

The Maryland-based company has announced promising data from early trials of the vaccine indicating the shot is safe and effective, provoking only mild reactions typical of other vaccines and “robust antibody responses” against the coronavirus.

If it proves effective in the Phase 3 trials, Novavax’s vaccine would have one advantage over the versions currently being produced by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, which must be kept frozen — in Pfizer’s case, at ultra-cold temperatures. Novavax’s vials could be distributed across standard supply chains at refrigerator temperatures, without the need for specialized freezers.

In addition to Pfizer and Moderna, whose vaccines began rolling out in the U.S. in recent weeks,two other vaccine developers have Phase 3 trials underway in the United States: Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen and AstraZeneca. In October, Novavax said its Phase 3 trial faced delays over issues with large-scale manufacturing of its doses. Unlike pharmaceutical behemoths like Pfizer, Novavax is relying on contractors to produce its doses.

Novavax is also among the companies to receive an infusion of funds from the Trump administration to spur vaccine development, awarded $1.6 billion by Operation Warp Speed over the summer.

But because other vaccines are already starting to become available to the public, Novavax may face an additional obstacle as it moves into the final phase of testing.

Pfizer and Moderna had credited widespread enthusiasm for taking part in their trials — and the rapid spread of COVID-19 in the United States — in speeding their Phase 3 testing to completion. But in its announcement on Monday, Novavax acknowledged some Americans could be hesitant to risk receiving a placebo in Novavax trial versus waiting to secure their own dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines now being distributed across the United States.

“We recognize that volunteers considering our trial may have questions about the potential impact on their ability to receive an authorized vaccine when it becomes available to them,” Dr. Gregory Glenn, the firm’s president of research and development, said in a news release.

“We wish to reassure participants that we are working to ensure that their involvement in our trial does not negatively impact their ability to be vaccinated at the appropriate time.”

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President-elect Joe Biden is warning of massive damage done to the national security apparatus by the Trump administration and “roadblocks” in communication between agency officials and his transition team that could undermine Americans’ security.

During remarks Monday in Wilmington, Delaware, Biden said his team has faced “obstruction” from the “political leadership” at the Defense Department and the Office of Management and Budget as they’ve sought to gather necessary information to continue the transition of power.

“Right now we just aren’t getting all the information that we need from the outgoing administration in key national security areas. It’s nothing short, in my view, of irresponsibility,” Biden said.

He warned that his team needs “full visibility” into the budget process at the Defense Department “in order to avoid any window of confusion or catch-up that our adversaries may try to exploit.” He also said they need “a clear picture of our force posture around the world and of our operations to deter our enemies.”

Biden’s remarks came after he was briefed by members of his national security and defense teams and advisers, including his nominees for secretary of State, Defense and Homeland Security, as well as his incoming national security adviser. The president-elect said his team found that agencies “critical to our security have incurred enormous damage” during President Donald Trump’s time in office.

“Many of them have been hollowed out in personnel, capacity and in morale,” he said. “All of it makes it harder for our government to protect the American people, to defend our vital interests in a world where threats are constantly evolving and our adversaries are constantly adapting.”

Trump has still refused to concede an election he lost by more than 7 million votes, and his administration did not authorize official cooperation with the Biden transition team until Nov. 23, weeks after the election. Biden and his aides warned at the time that the delay was hampering their ability to craft their own vaccine rollout plan, but have since said cooperation on that and other issues related to COVID-19 has improved.

Last week, however, Biden himself said that the Defense Department “won’t even brief us on many things” and suggested because of this, he didn’t have a complete understanding of the full scope of the recent cyberhack that breached numerous government systems.

On Monday, Biden said his team still gathering information about the extent of the cyberhack, but described the need to “modernize” America’s defense to deter future such attacks, “rather than continuing to over-invest in legacy systems designed to address the threats of the past.”

Pentagon officials pushed back on Biden’s characterization of the disconnect between the Defense Department and the Biden team. Acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller said in a statement that the department has conducted 164 interviews with over 400 officials, and provided over 5,000 pages of documents, which is “far more than initially requested by Biden’s transition team.”

Miller also said that his team is continuing to schedule meetings for the remaining weeks of the transition and “answer any and all requests for information in our purview.”

Biden also spoke in length about the need to rebuild global alliances, which he said were necessary to combat climate change, address the COVID-19 pandemic and prepare for future epidemics, and confront the growing threat posed by China.

“Right now, there’s an enormous vacuum. We’re going to have to regain the trust and confidence of a world that has begun to find ways to work around us or without us,” he said.

Trump has implemented an “America First” foreign policy that saw the U.S. retreat from longstanding global alliances and treaties. The Trump Administration cut funding from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, withdrew from the World Health Organization and the Paris Climate Accords.

The shift away from international diplomacy also precipitated an exodus of staff from key agencies, like the State Department. Trump himself has had a contentious relationship with the intelligence community, criticizing its findings that Russia interfered in the 2016 election to boost his candidacy. And still other national security agencies have faced staff cuts and unstable leadership throughout Trump’s time in office as the president frequently fired his department heads with little notice, often leaving departments with acting secretaries or vacant positions in their top ranks.

The situation has left what experts say is a major morale crisis throughout the federal government, and Biden said Monday that “rebuilding the full set of our instruments of foreign policy and national security is the key challenge” he and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris face when they take office on January 20.

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