Coronavirus In Florida And The Effects Of The Delta Variant

After enjoying a long term of freedom thinking that we have left behind the pandemic, its back with a big bang in the form of a new variant, the delta. Governors, mayors, celebrities, and even the President of the United States himself stepped up in encouraging people to get vaccinated. Experts believe that Floridians are not taking the COVID-19 pandemic seriously. As people are letting their masks down, epidemiologists warn that they are gradually letting back the infection, which can be even more transmissible than a year ago. Even though we are more medically advanced than a year ago, the situation today is still the same.

Brevard County reported 495 cases three weeks ago, 693 cases two weeks ago, 1,443 one week ago and 2,166 this week until Thursday. The rise was up to 20.3%. Cases are rising in the state as well. In the span of four weeks, the number of confirmed coronavirus positive cases rose from 15,997 to 23,554 to 45,584 to 73,199. Brevard’s Florida Department of Health’s epidemiologist, Barry Inman, said the spike is very worrisome. 

Coronavirus In Florida And The Effects Of The Delta Variant

The Brevard County government, Brevard’s Florida Health Department and the three hospitals in the county released a joint statement appealing to the unvaccinated people to get vaccinated without further delay. They requested the residents to practice social distancing, cleanliness, hygiene and wearing masks to put an end to the soaring spread of the infection. Although, people are still not concerned about their and others safety. The unvaccinated people are still slow in taking vaccines and business houses are full of unvaccinated people. 

Florida remains one of the worst-hit states. It is behind on metrics including the vaccinated adults, new COVID-19 cases, testing rate, hospital admissions and deaths because of coronavirus. Many people say that they would rather risk contracting COVID-19 than take the vaccine. We can blame social media for misinformation and fear about vaccines. 

Health First’s chief clinical officer, Dr Jeffrey Stalnaker, urged people to get vaccinated. He said that vaccines are proven to be the most effective vaccine and the only solution for the coronavirus. He pointed out that the US has seen more deaths during the pandemic than it did during the Second World War. 

The University of South Florida’s associate professor, Jason Salemi, said that there has been a 144% increase in hospitalization in Florida in the span of just a month. He said that there is a lot of evidence suggesting that Florida was walking towards the wrong place. The hospitals in Florida are admitting people in the age group of 20 to 40 years. Many local hospitals are restricting the friends and families of the patients. 

The delta variant was first found in India and then it spread to Great Britain. The first case in the US was diagnosed in March. It remains the most widely spread and the most contagious virus the world has seen. Rochelle Wilensky, the director of Centers D said that the delta variant is making up almost 83% of total positive coronavirus cases. The number increases further up to 90% in the areas with a low vaccination rates. The FDA has approved three vaccines- Moderna, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson under emergency use authorization. It is believed that all three vaccines are effective to prevent delta variants as well as other variants. 

Experts say that the delta variant spreads around 50% speedily than the alpha variant. The alpha was 50% more infectious than the original COVID-19 strain. When a person refrains from wearing a mask in public spaces, one can infect around 2 to 3 people, while the delta variant can infect 3 to 4 people.