Florida's COVID vaccination count jumps 263,000 in two weeks. Why?

C. A. Bridges, Fort Myers News-Press
·5 min read
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Florida's bewildering vaccination numbers, COVID emotions, immunocompromised people's never-ending pandemic and more in today's edition of the Florida Coronavirus Watch Newsletter. The newsletter comes out every Monday and Thursday or as urgent news dictates.

Latest Florida COVID-19 data

Unlike most states which report coronavirus data directly to the public multiple times a week or daily, Florida reports every other week with the summary only listing the increase for the previous seven days, entirely skipping a week of data. State reports include only Florida residents and not visitors for cases and deaths, but do include visitors for vaccination totals.

Subtracting the state's June 16 report from the July 1 one, we get:

  • New COVID-19 cases in the previous two weeks: 148,314

  • Total COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began: 6,493,977 (6,537,512 per Johns Hopkins)

  • New COVID-19 deaths in the previous two weeks: 795

  • Total COVID-19 deaths since the pandemic began: 75,891

  • Last week's testing positivity: State report: 19.4%, Johns Hopkins: 23.32%

State death counts from COVID-19 tend to get updated and revised so that number may not reflect actual deaths occurring in that time period. Case numbers do not include people who self-test at home.

In the latest week COVID-19 cases in Florida were about 4.2 times what the CDC says is a high level of community transmission. A Monday report said the state had 3,598 COVID-19 patients in hospital beds, from 3,769 a week earlier.

Sources: Florida Department of Health COVID report, U.S. Health and Human Services (hospitalizations)

Here's what's happening

- Florida's COVID-19 vaccination count jumps 263,000 in two weeks. DeSantis officials won't say why. You may want to take the numbers above with a grain of salt. In the latest report from the Florida Department of Health, the state’s vaccination count inexplicably jumped by six figures, something that DeSantis administration officials have refused to explain, after months of decline that officials also have refused to explain.

The FDOH on Friday added more than 263,000 people to the state’s inoculation tally since its last COVID report published June 17, the biggest two-week increase since December. The state previously had shaved more than 67,000 people off its tally since April 8. When asked about the discrepancy, health department press secretary Jeremy Redfern said in an email, “Please read the last page of the report.” The last page of the report contains no explanation.

Florida's numbers are already suspect since the state counts vaccinations and boosters for people visiting from out of state along with the residents, but does not count positive cases or deaths for visitors. State health officials have no plan to fix this or investigate, Redfern said in March. Also, people who test positive with at-home tests are not included in the state tally.

Florida’s death toll stood Friday at 75,891 residents. But that excludes more than 3,000 victims who died in 2020 from March to October and for which physicians listed the disease as a main cause of death, a report released by the Florida Auditor General revealed. The Palm Beach Post had that story in June for its subscribers.

- Still feeling stressed and sad amid COVID? New report says you're certainly not alone. All of these emotions reached new record highs worldwide last year and into the early part of 2022, according to the latest Global Emotions Report, Gallup's annual measuring of our well-being. In fact, nearly half of people worldwide are still unhappy more than two years after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Oracle Happiness Report released earlier this month.

- Many, if not most people are acting as if the pandemic is over. But if you're immunocompromised, that's not an option. To mask or not to mask at the grocery store or on an airplane? To attend that 150-person wedding or reunion? To gather with your large family or not? Pondering these questions as the rest of the world blithely returns to normal can make those at higher risk feel confused, left out, ignored, and down-right annoyed. USA TODAY has the story for its suscbribers.

- Worried your child's development is delayed because of the pandemic? Parents of today's young children often find themselves wondering whether factors related to the COVID-19 pandemic have stunted their toddlers' development, causing them to take too long to learn to walk, grab objects, vocalize using words, or learn social skills. Here's what to look for, and what to do about it.

- Camp Crystal Lake session cut short after coronavirus outbreak impacts dozens of campers, staff. Camp Crystal Lake in Alachua County has ended its third summer session early due to a COVID-19 outbreak which has resulted in almost three dozen campers and staff being sent home.

COVID info to know

COVID-19 will be an issue for a long time to come, and we think more education is better. Here's what you need to know.

ABOUT COVID

AVOIDING COVID

TESTING

DO YOU HAVE COVID?

What do you want to know about COVID-19? You ask, we'll try to answer

From a reader: "Why are deaths rising if cases are dropping?"

Most people who die from COVID spend time suffering at home and then in the hospital first, and they may be there for weeks. After a surge such as the one we seem to be coming down from now, you can expect a temporary surge in deaths reported as the result.

Also, the state updates its death totals as new information comes in from autopsies, missed reports, out-of-state records, etc, so a death that shows up in last week's number actually might have happened weeks or months ago.

Anything you'd like to know? Ask your questions here.

Thank you for reading! We appreciate you trusting our statewide journalists to keep you safe and informed. If you are encouraged by our work and want to support your local journalists, please consider subscribing. Know someone who would benefit from this newsletter? Forward this email so they can sign up.

Chris' note of the day: Elmo got vaccinated? Elmo got vaccinated, as part of a partnership with the CDC and Sesame Street to answer parent/guardian questions and promote vaccination for children under five. Elmo, 3 1/2 since 1984, says it was "a little pinch" and his father explains he had concerns, but was reassured after talking to Elmo's pediatrician. Senator Ted Cruz had objections. Watch it here.

Here's what else is happening with the coronavirus in Florida today.

— C. A. Bridges, cbridges@gannett.com

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Florida's COVID vaccination count jumps 263,000 in two weeks. Why?