Kelly Hayes
As more people get vaccinated across Tampa Bay, the number of new COVID-19 cases still has not diminished.
Hillsborough County reported 466 new cases on Tuesday, according to Florida Department of Health data released Wednesday.
The county’s positivity rate has continued to remain high — on Tuesday, the county reported a rate of 9.90%. Throughout the week, the county’s positivity rate has teetered around 10%, a rate health experts define as an indicator of mass community spread.
In the latest report, Hillsborough reported one new death and seven additional hospitalizations. Since the start of the pandemic, the county has recorded 124,636 cases of COVID-19, and 1,623 related deaths.
Pinellas County is also seeing higher positivity rates, and reported 242 new cases Tuesday. It also reported a positivity rate of 9% that same day, a slight spike given the past few days, in which the county has stayed around 7%.
The county did not report any new deaths, but did record 22 additional hospitalizations. So far, the county has confirmed 73,828 cases of COVID-19, resulting in 1,559 deaths.
As far as vaccines, Hillsborough County has vaccinated 399,556 people, including 202,347 who are fully vaccinated. Those who are fully vaccinated include 175,663 who have completed a two-dose series, and 26,684 who received the one-and-done Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
Pinellas County has so far seen 331,280 people vaccinated. Of those, 194,406 have been fully-vaccinated, including 181,847 who received a two-shot vaccine and 12,559 who received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
On Tuesday, 11,711 individuals were vaccinated in Hillsborough County, and 8,651 were vaccinated in Pinellas County.
