WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Jeff Hy is about to become a grandfather. His daughter expecting a little girl in May, so his family has been extremely careful when it comes to COVID.
"I live in a 55+ community and a lot of folks in my community are very scared so I think people need to do the right thing and be smart," said Hy.
Hy has also been trying to get vaccinated and came close last week with Publix's online reservation system.
"I went ahead and filed all the info out and went to click book the appointment and it said sorry your time and location you picked are not available," he said.
But according to the Florida Health Department, more than two million people in the state have received at least one shot of the vaccine, and doctors say they're seeing some progress.
"We're starting to see lower numbers both in a general sense on a daily basis as well as hospitalizations," said Dr. Leslie Diaz.
Dr. Diaz, an infectious disease specialist in Palm Beach County also said she expects to see an increase in the number of doses Florida will soon receive. A sign of hope with the UK variant spreading rapidly in Florida.
"There's an urgency to vaccinate people and a race against the clock with that because you really want to suppress those variants in the general population," she said.
Dr. Diaz said if the numbers continue, we could see more positive results in a month or two.
Hy is being proactive to feel more secure and protect his loved ones.
"I'm going on tomorrow morning on Publix's website and keeping my fingers crossed," he said.
Florida currently has the most cases of the UK variant and Dr. Diaz said that is why everyone should consider getting vaccinated to do their part in stopping the spread.
The goal is to vaccinate at least 70-80 percent of the population.
