COVID cases increase by more than 450; deaths up on Space Coast
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COVID-19 cases jumped up by more than 450 on the Space Coast in the latest national health data, with deaths increasing despite a decrease in hospitalizations.
Between March 16 and March 22, the Centers for Disease Control reported 642 cases of COVID in Brevard, with an estimated 106.65 cases per 100,000 people. The prior week, between March 9 and March 15, the agency reported just 185 cases, with an estimated 30.73 cases per 100,000 people.
Deaths attributed to COVID-19 also increased, jumping from 10 between March 9 and March 15 to 17 between March 16 and March 22. The agency does not provide demographic information regarding the deceased patients such as their sexes, ages or whether or not they suffered from comorbid health issues.
The positivity rate increased slightly from 8.32% between March 7 and March 13 to 8.58% between March 14 and March 20, the CDC reported.
It’s important to note that not every case of COVID in the community is accounted for in the CDC’s report, as not everyone with symptoms takes a test, and at-home tests are not reported to the CDC.
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Despite the increase in deaths, hospitalizations decreased. Between March 15 and March 21, there were 22 new admissions of confirmed COVID-19 patients, while there were 28 admissions the prior week, the CDC reported.
Brevard is still considered a community of low COVID-19 levels, a status the CDC calculates through hospitalizations and case numbers.
70.2% of Brevard residents age 5 and older have received their primary series of shots against COVID, an increase of 0% from the previous week, according to the CDC. 13.4% of that population has received their Bivalent booster shot, a 0.1% increase from the prior week.
Nationwide, 73.4% of people age 5 and older have received their primary shots against COVID, though only 17.5% of that same age group has received their updated Bivalent booster.
The XBB.1.5 variant remained the dominant variant across the United States this week, accounting for approximately 90.2% of all reported COVID-19 cases between March 19 and March 25, according to the CDC. That’s an increase of 0% from the previous week.
XBB.1.91 and BQ.1.1 were the second and third most dominant strains, each making up approximately 2.5% of cases. The previous week, BQ.1.1 was the second most dominant strain, making up 3.5% of all reported cases, while XBB was the third most dominant strain, making up 2.5% of cases. XBB is now the fifth most dominant strain, making up 1.2% of cases.
There have been 103,957,053 reported cases of COVID-19 and 1,123,613 deaths attributed to the virus across the nation since March 2020, according to the CDC. Brevard has had 2,319 deaths attributed to COVID since the start of the pandemic.
Where to get vaccinated
The Florida Department of Health has three vaccination sites in Brevard.
Viera clinic, at 2555 Judge Fran Jamieson Way.
Melbourne clinic, 601 E. University Blvd.
Titusville clinic, 611 N. Singleton Ave.
Omni Healthcare's offices also offer vaccines, as does their walk-in vaccination clinic located in Suite 303 on the third floor of 1344 S. Apollo Blvd. in Melbourne, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays. Vaccines are also available from 9 a.m. to noon in Suite 2C of Omni’s 1344 S. Apollo Blvd. complex.
Local pharmacies, such as Walgreens, CVS and Publix, also offer vaccines. Check your pharmacy's website to schedule a vaccination appointment.
Finch Walker is the education reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Walker at 321-290-4744 or fwalker@floridatoday.com. Twitter: @_finchwalker.
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Hospitalizations down, but COVID cases and deaths shoot up
