TAMPA, Fla. — Florida's COVID-19 cases are on the rise. The last week of data provided from the Florida Department of Health shows the state had more than 45,000 reported cases of the virus.
That's nearly double the cases reported by the state just one week prior. As we see more cases of the virus, mostly in unvaccinated people, we're seeing more hospitalizations too.
Major hospitals in our area say they're seeing more people coming in with coronavirus. COVID-19 cases in Sarasota and Manatee counties alone have tripled from earlier this month and it's causing health officials to urge people to get vaccinated.
Just a few weeks ago, Sarasota Memorial Hospital had no one with COVID-19 in the ICU, however, there are now six people, with several more hospitalized.
The Safety Net Hospital Alliance of Florida, which advocates on behalf of a number of Tampa Bay area medical centers including Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital, Tampa General and Sarasota Memorial, says the average age of people being admitted to hospitals for severe COVID-19 symptoms is dropping.
"The median and average is 40s or 60s whereas last July, the median age of hospitalization was high 70s or low 80s. It's a much younger population and they do have fewer comorbidities," said Justin Senior, CEO of SNHA.
Many public health experts attribute this rise in cases to vaccine hesitancy. Right now, less than 50 percent of people under the age of 40 are vaccinated in Florida but more than 84 percent of people over the age of 65 are vaccinated. With a large percentage of Florida's younger population refusing the vaccine, variants are able to spread more rapidly through the group.
In Florida, three variants have been detected: Beta, Delta and Gamma.
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