Florida Reports Rise in COVID-19 Hospitalizations Among Children

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Florida is tackling the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic as cases skyrocket among children throughout the state, specifically teens who are not vacccinated.

Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reveals that Florida Department of Health reported 32 pediatric COVID-19 hospitalizations per day and between July 23 and 29. There were also 10,785 new COVID-19 infections among children under age 12 in the same time frame — an average of 1,540 new cases per day, the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Though many children recover from the virus within a week, studies show that a small percentage can experience long-term symptoms. Children under age 12 are not yet eligible for vaccination. And as of Friday, only 38% of children in Florida aged 12 to 19 had been vaccinated.

As COVID cases among youth increase, South Florida's Broward County Public Schools — the state's second largest school district — has withdrawn its mask mandate, which was announced last week, after threats from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to withhold funding to districts that require face coverings.

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"Broward County Public Schools intends to comply with the governor's latest executive order," the school district said in an online statement Wednesday.

"Safety remains our highest priority. The district will advocate for all eligible students and staff to receive vaccines and strongly encourage masks to be worn by everyone in schools," the statement continued. "The district will also work to adhere to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, including frequent cleaning and disinfecting of our schools, physical distancing, hand washing, and staying home when sick."

The decision follows the executive order DeSantis signed on Friday prohibiting school districts from implementing a mask mandate when the new academic year begins this fall. DeSantis said in a statement, "masking children can negatively impact their learning, speech, emotional and social development, and physical health," without citing any evidence

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The order will allow parents to decide whether or not to have their children wear masks inside the classroom, despite CDC recommendations urging so. "I signed an executive order directing @HealthyFla to enter rulemaking in collaboration with @EducationFL to protect parents' freedom to choose whether their children wear masks in schools," the governor tweeted.

Florida has been hit hard with the coronavirus and the highly contagious delta variant. The state reported its highest surge of coronavirus cases since the beginning of the pandemic, reporting 21, 683 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, according to CDC data.

On Sunday, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services reported that 10,207 people in Florida were hospitalized with confirmed cases of COVID-19, the Associated Press reported. The figure breaks the previous Sunshine State record of 10,170 hospitalizations, recorded July 23, 2020, according to the Florida Hospital Association. They report more than 95% of hospitalized COVID-19 patients are not fully vaccinated.

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