Florida vaccination rates slowly creep up as case numbers continue to drop
Florida continued to see a drop in COVID-19 cases while recording a slight uptick in vaccinations, according to data released Tuesday by the Florida Department of Health.
The data covered Nov. 19 and Nov. 25, a period before the flood of news about a new variant of concern, Omicron. Usually, the state releases its report every Friday but due to the Thanksgiving holiday, the report was delayed.
Between Nov. 19 and Nov. 25, 69% of the eligible population in Florida— those ages five and older — were vaccinated. This marked an increase of only one percentage point since the week prior. A total of 14,316,848 Florida residents have received at least one dose of the vaccine. Only 9,732,674 Floridians have completed the full vaccination series by receiving the two-dose Moderna or Pfizer-BioNtech series or the single-shot Johnson & Johnson shot.
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Floridians ages 65 and older remained one of the most vaccinated age groups, at 89%; while Floridians ages 5 to 11, who just recently became eligible for vaccination, remain one of the lowest vaccinated groups at 8% vaccinated.
According to FDOH, of the eligible population in Florida, age group vaccination rates across the state are:
Ages 5-11, 8% vaccinated
Ages 12-19, 57% vaccinated.
Ages 20-29, 57% vaccinated.
Ages 30-39, 67% vaccinated.
Ages 40-49, 75% vaccinated.
Ages 50-59, 80% vaccinated.
Ages 60-64, 86% vaccinated.
Ages 65+, 89% vaccinated.
Between Nov.19 and Nov. 25, there were 44 cases per 100,000 across Florida, 5.3 cases per 100,000 fewer than the week prior; and of individuals who took a COVID-19 test, 2.4% came back positive, making for a decrease of 0.1 percentage point since the week prior.
The COVID-19 case positivity rate and cases per 100,000 are the two measures used to evaluate how much the virus is spreading in a community.
Based on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention transmission level guidelines, Florida is considered a community of moderate transmission.
A community of moderate transmission is one where there are between 10 and 50 cases per 100,000 people and the case positivity rate is between 5% and 8%, according to the CDC. To be a community of low transmission, Florida would need to maintain its case positivity rate below 5% and also drop to fewer than 10 cases per 100,000.
Between Nov. 19 and Nov. 25, there were 467 COVID-19 related deaths in Florida; a total of 61,548 Floridians have died of COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic.
Amira Sweilem is the data reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Sweilem at 386-406-5648 or asweilem@floridatoday.com.
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This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Florida vaccine rates inch up amid continued drop in COVID cases
