Florida COVID update: 1,213 deaths and 4,215 cases added to tally, fewer in hospital

Florida on Thursday reported 1,213 more deaths and 4,215 additional COVID-19 cases to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to Miami Herald calculations of CDC data.

All but 131 of the newly reported deaths — about 89% — occurred since Aug. 26, according to the Herald analysis. About 56% of the newly reported died in the past two weeks, the analysis showed. The majority of deaths happened during Florida’s latest surge in COVID-19 cases, fueled by the delta variant.

In all, Florida has recorded at least 3,531,465 confirmed COVID cases and 53,105 deaths.

In this most recent phase of the pandemic, Florida through the CDC has reported deaths in Monday and Thursday clumps.

In the past seven days, on average, the state has added 328 deaths and 8,227 cases to the daily cumulative total, according to Herald calculations of CDC data.

Florida COVID-19 vaccine rates

About 12,130,630 eligible Floridians — 56.5% of the state’s population — had completed the two-dose series of either the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines or have completed Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose vaccine, according to the CDC.

Vaccinations in South Florida and Manatee County

The CDC reported that every county’s level of community transmission was high. Here’s how many people have been fully vaccinated in South Florida, according to the CDC.

▪ In Miami-Dade County, about 1,937,772 people, or 71.3% of the county’s total population, are fully vaccinated.

▪ In Broward County, about 1,172,913 people are fully vaccinated, or 60.1% of the county’s population.

▪ In Palm Beach County, about 856,561 people are fully vaccinated, or 57.2% of the county’s population.

▪ In Monroe County, about 49,435 people are fully vaccinated, or 66.6% of the county’s population.

▪ In Manatee County, about 212,129 people are fully vaccinated, or 52.6% of the county’s population.

COVID-19 hospitalizations in Florida

There were 7,928 people hospitalized for COVID-19 in Florida, according to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Thursday report. This data is reported from 260 Florida hospitals. That is 259 fewer patients than Wednesday’s report, but also from 24 more reporting hospitals than the previous 236.

COVID-19 patients occupy 13.57% of all inpatient beds in the latest report’s hospitals, compared with 14.99% in the previous day’s reporting hospitals.

Of the people hospitalized in Florida, 2,041 people were in intensive care unit beds, a decrease of 87. That represents about 31.24% of the state’s ICU hospital beds compared with 32.84% the previous day.

Thursday’s Miami-Dade County report said there were 600 COVID patients in the county’s hospitals on Wednesday, an increase of four from the previous day’s report. Of the 49 new COVID patients, 38 (77.55%) had not been vaccinated.

Broward County’s Thursday report said there were 649 COVID patients in the county’s hospitals, an decrease of 38 from Wednesday’s patient population.