Leon County Health Department

The state’s largest food bank will distribute free food starting at 8 a.m. Saturday while supplies last. The event follows damaging tornadoes and other severe weather.

Leon County has recorded its first case of monkeypox, according to the Florida Department of Health-Leon. The department issued the announcement Saturday in a statement.

The highly-transmissible variant has now been detected in nearly every state.

Florida A&M University has opened its COVID-19 vaccination site to the public. The site will run seven days a week, between 9 a.m. and noon. The Florida Division of Emergency Management and Leon County Health Department are staffing the facility. It is located at the Lawson Gymnasium at 1800 Wahnish Way.

Florida’s COVID infection rate has dropped over recent weeks, following a surge of cases over the holidays. The decrease mirrors what's happening in other parts of the state and the country. In Leon County, there’s been a similar decline though not as sharply as the rest of Florida.

Florida is concentrating its efforts on vaccinating healthcare workers and seniors over 65. But little over a month into the largest vaccination effort ever, there’s growing impatience over which groups will be able to get vaccines next.

The county will be one of several in Florida participating in a pilot program to inoculate people against COVID-19.

The Leon County Health Department is urging parents to call and set up appointments to get their students' required vaccines before the start of the next school year. Health officials hope to avoid large numbers of families from coming in at the last minute.

The Leon County Health Department will be testing residents at a senior living apartment complex for COVID-19. On the same day that begins, the drive-thru Northwood Centre test site will close.

Starting Tuesday, Leon residents interested in purchasing a birth or death certificate will now have to go to a new location. The health department’s…