Florida becomes Covid variant capital of the US with 11,800 cases: Surge in infections after Spring Breakers flooded the state but overall cases fall
Cases of variant forms of COVID have surged in Florida just weeks after the state was inundated with spring breakers, data has revealed.
Florida now has the distinction of being the home to the most variant COVID-19 cases in the country as state health officials reported more than 11,800 cases of COVID-19 variants on Wednesday, the Sun Sentinel reported.
In mid-March 753 cases were reported from three 'variants of concern' - the B.1.1.7, the P.1, and the B. 1.3.5.1.
That number swelled to 5,177 cases from five types of variants on April 15 and just two weeks later, the number of variant infections exploded to 9,248 on April 27, according to health data reviewed by WFTV.
In Florida, 243 people have been hospitalized with variants and 67 have died.
And since only one percent of all COVID-19 cases in Florida undergo testing to study their genetic coding, the number of variant infections is likely much higher than reported.
There are fears that the spread of variants could make vaccines less effective, and prolong the covid pandemic as people who have already had the disease or been vaccinated risk being reinfected.
The timing of the variant surge aligns with spring break, as thousands of college students and vacationers flock to the Sunshine State for vacation
Variant COVID infections have risen dramatically since March, aligning with the influx of vacationers visiting Florida for spring break (source: Florida Department of Health via WFTV)
Spring breakers (pictured) make their way to Florida beaches as the state experiences a surge in COVID variant infections
As of May 1, Miami-Dade County led the state with 2,279 variant cases, followed by Broward County with 1,950 variant cases, the Sun Sentinel reported.
The B.1.1.7 strain- first detected in the United Kingdom- is estimated to be 60% more infectious than the original dominant strain of COVID-19, it is also believed to result in more severe illness and higher hospitalization rates, Orlando Sentinel reported.
The most recent estimate is that variant strain is 67% more deadly.
There are also several reports of the South African and Brazilian variants.
The timing of the variant surge aligns with spring break, coming weeks after thousands of college students and vacationers flocked to the Sunshine State for vacation.
Despite the rise in variant infections, overall COVID-19 cases in Florida are going down as state health officials reported 4.67% COVID-19 positivity rate on Friday- the second day in a row that it has dipped below five percent, ABC News 7 reported.
In total, Florida has had 2,269,806 cases of COVID and 35,731 deaths.
Around 40% of Floridians - 9 million people - have been vaccinated with at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine.
Spring breakers gather on the beach (pictured) in South Beach, Miami as variant COVID infections surge in the Sunshine State
South Beach beaches are packed during spring break as vacationers flock to Florida as it experiences a surge in variant COVID infections
Dr. Aileen Marty, a professor of infectious disease and outbreak response at Florida International University, tells the Orlando Sentinel that the rise in variant COVID infections can be attributed to lax attitudes about the virus.
'The real problem is that everyone's acting like the pandemic is over,' she said. 'If we get lackadaisical about it...these variants can overcome some of the immunity that we've developed, and we may find ourselves in a very bad situation again.'
Dr. Marty says that the best way to prevent the spread of variants is to get vaccinated. 'I think that to the majority of the people, there are just too many numbers and letters [for the variants] to keep up with and to understand where the risk actually is right now,' she told the Orlando Sentinal. 'The most important thing to know is that we need to get more people vaccinated. Any level of protection is better than no level of protection.'
No comments